Surrender Yourself: Lesson Learned in a Helpless Situation

So this past Memorial Day weekend,
my family and friends hit the road to our lake house for a weekend filled with
memories and bonding. Along with my family came many significant others
including my boyfriend, Trenton. On Sunday afternoon, I was dying to do some
tubing, one of my favorite lake day activities, and who better to tube with
than your best friend. So Trenton and I hopped on the tube for some fun, and
little did we know it would have been one heck of a ride. In the midst of
tubing, Trenton began to have an asthma
attack, because his asthma has been acting up a lot recently especially on
rainy, gloomy days. He could barely tell me that we needed to stop tubing, and
then once I finally understood, we hopped back onto the boat, only to have the
boat’s battery die. We were stuck miles from our dock without a phone to call
for help or an inhaler to allow Trenton to breathe. After a series of
unfortunate events like the boat breaking down, then the rescue jet ski
flipping over, and Trenton not having a life jacket on, we finally made it to
our dock about 30 minutes later. He quickly got his inhaler, which only helped
for about 2 hours, and then we had to rush to the small hospital in McMinnville,
where we could get him breathing regularly once again. Now this story ends
happily. We are both home from the lake,
breathing, and so thankful, and we also learned many things through this tragic
event.

While on
the pontoon boat, which came to our rescue after we were trying to stay afloat
on a flipped over Jet Ski, we both were
so helpless. Trenton couldn’t even talk because his lungs were closing so
fast, and all I could do was think of the worst. All I could do was bow my head
next to his and pray. I knew if all
else failed, God would pull through for
the both of us. I was reminded of something I heard at an FCA camp, which I
will never forget. I quote,

“It is in your points of desperation where we realize how powerless we
are and how much we need Christ.”

It is natural for us humans to believe we can do it all
without outside help, but in this situation, Trenton and I both were reminded
how powerless we truly are.

Not only
did we learn this lesson, but this morning when he and I read our devotional,
it was about how God is our source of
peace and hope, both of which we were in need of due to the circumstances.
We were reminded in our reading, Romans 5:1-11, that our suffering only produced perseverance for the both of us. We persevered
literally on the boat, but we also both have come to know the Lord so much
better. We both know that we NEED the POWER OF CHRIST on our side, and we
should be persistent in recognizing and submitting ourselves to the Lord.

Though it was a tough weekend, I believe that we both grew stronger
because of it, and I most certainly believe with all my heart that we are
powerless. We would not be here if it were not for the selfless God we serve. Surrender to his power and authority.