It was July of 2021 and I honestly thought I was going to die. I was so far from shore and the current underneath me was so strong. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was caught in a dangerous rip current off the Gulf Coast of Mexico. I was far from shore and the waves were high and pummeling my already tired body.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a strong swimmer. In any pool or body of water I only go as far as chest high. Indeed, I can swim, but I’m not proficient by any stretch of the imagination. The thought of drowning is perhaps one of my greatest fears in life, next to killer clowns and creepy basement crawlspaces. I respect the water. I fear the water. To die in a watery abyss is beyond scary to me.
Indeed, that day in July had started off with so much excitement. My brother, Steven, had just sworn into the Pensacola Police Department as a police officer. My heart swelled with pride as I witnessed my brother raise his right hand and take his solemn oath. My little brother had just become a cop! My other brother, Samuel, was also with me at the swearing in ceremony. It was a proud moment for the three of us brothers. We decided to celebrate by heading to Pensacola Beach…
We swam around and played around for hours. We wrestled in the water and cracked jokes that made us laugh till our bellies hurt. Man alive, it was such a good time! The sun was beginning to set, and we decided to take one last lap in the water. We were all tired, but happy, and wanted one last hurrah in the Gulf before heading to dinner.
Then it happened, I popped out of the water after seeing how long I could hold my breath, and I was so far from land. Indeed, the current was pulling me farther and farther from land. Fear and panic gripped my body. My life flashed before my eyes. Images of my wife and children (especially my new – always smiling – adopted son, Derrick) flashed before my eyes. I was so scared. “You can’t swim!”, my brain screamed at me with aggressive passion. After a few more seconds of panic, I made the decision, “It’s sink or swim; and I’m not going to die today – not today,” I told myself. So, I began to swim. The struggle was real and intense. Amazingly, I never took a gulp of water with all the waves crashing in around me. I swam hard. I swam ugly. I swam for my life. “Not. Going. To Die. Today. Keep going…Don’t quit…Don’t stinking quit…”, I told myself as my body chopped through the relentless waters. I was tired. Exhausted. I wanted to stop, to catch my breath, but to do so meant certain death – death by drowning.
By the grace of God, I survived that day. All three of us brothers were able to escape that strong rip current in the Gulf of Mexico. As we got to the beach, we flopped on the white sand in satisfied, nervous exhaustion. We were alive…by the grace of God.
You know, I’ve been close to death several times. From incoming mortars in Iraq to some scary car accidents, but that moment in the Gulf was intense. I’m grateful to be alive. Still breathing. Still moving forward. Still on mission.
Flirting with death is an uncomfortable grace that is filled with adrenaline and high stakes passion. Indeed, to escape death gives you new perspective and a renewed vigor for life. Ultimately, God is the giver of life, and He is sovereign over our lives and over our deaths. To Him be the glory both now and forever, amen.
As I exit 2021 and enter 2022, I’m still up and moving. Yes, and I intend to keep moving till my bones collapse and God says, “Come home.” Till then, the time to live, love, and lead is NOW, not later. You and I are not guaranteed any set amount of time here on Earth. James 4:14 clearly states, “What is your life? For you are a mist [a vapor; a puff of smoke] that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
So, resolve with me to live this quickly vanishing life with all the passion of a non-swimmer stuck in a rip current to the glory of God. Are you struggling right now? Scared right now? Uncertain right now? Keep going. Don’t quit. It’s sink or swim – choose to swim.