By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
Dear Readers, several years ago my husband and I watched a small segment of a program about historic floods that happened in the US. They were sharing sad stories of lives lost, but also heroic acts that reportedly took place during these events.
One account in particular touched my heart, and I wanted to share it with you again.
Now, I didn’t hear all the details leading up to it, but many years ago a woman, along with her 12 year old daughter and young son, were in the path of a flash flood.
The rushing water was pushing a wall of mud and debris towards their neighborhood. They literally had to run for their lives in an attempt to reach safety, but the woman and daughter quickly became stuck in the deepening mud, and in the direct path of the rushing water.
Apparently, both mother and daughter realized that they were not going to make it in time so they made a decision to try and save the toddler.
So in one last act of desperation they each grabbed hold of the baby, one holding his arms, the other his legs, and with all their combined might they flung him towards higher ground.
Sadly, the mother and daughter perished but as recorded, after 30 minutes, eyewitnesses at the scene were able to pull the baby out of the mud, head first, mouth full of dirt, but, as incredible as it may seem …. alive and well.
The program then switched to the child, now a grown man in perhaps his thirties, who testified of his knowledge gained from these same witnesses and authorities who were present at the time. He said his head was miraculously stuck in a pocket of air that kept him alive until help could reach him.
Now, as I watched this story unfold two things came to mind. My first thought was, “what an unselfish act on the part of this mother and daughter!!!” Instead of accepting complete defeat, with their own lives in peril, they didn’t make a choice to die together as a family, but rather chose to come together to try and save another human being’s life.
Then part of a scripture came to mind, “… casting all your care upon the Lord for He cares for you.” I began to think about how this is worded in the Bible. God didn’t say to place “the care”, or lay it down before Him, or hand it over to Him.
He said to “cast it!” It literally means to “toss or throw.”
I know this is a broad spectrum that I’m dealing with here, but in our own lives, there are people and things that we care about- family-marriages- friends-jobs-relationships and on and on. Now there are physical things we must do, take action (like the mother and daughter had to physically throw the baby toward safety), but at the same time, trusting that the Lord cares for us. When we toss the care of that “situation” that He WILL catch it. But the Lord will not take it from us, we first have to make a decision in our hearts to let go of it and “cast it” to Him.
I don’t know about you, but many times I feel like after I have cast a care very soon I begin to doubt that the Lord will catch it, maybe it was a bad throw on my part, so I run and try to grab it back in mid air. Or, when I don’t see immediate relief in that situation, doubt and unbelief can set in and I begin to wonder that maybe I didn’t do something right … Perhaps it was a wobbly toss that got stuck in the mud somewhere. Lol.
“Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” Psalm 27:14 NKJV
“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NKJV
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
But the Lord is rich in mercy and is abounding in love and grace. Trust in His goodness and His willingness to direct it towards you.
Or if you are that “care” and you feel like you’re sinking in a mire of mud. Call out to Jesus with all your heart and He will give you new life!! He will pick you up, put you on solid ground, clean you up, and care for you. But again, you have to let it go, not just the care, but your life also, and trust Him …
“… God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.’ 1 Peter 5:5-7 NKJV
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com
