It was an Alabama Fourth of July on beautiful Lake Martin, a vast recreational area known for extravagant Independence Day celebrations.
The pontoon boat—loaded with drinks, food, towels, sunscreen, family, and friends—promised a fun day on the water. As the sun set, a Montgomery radio station aired patriotic music to accompany the dazzling fireworks display. We relaxed and enjoyed the concert synchronized with the overhead spectacle.
Darkness swallowed the last brilliant bang. One by one, thousands of bumper-to-bumper boaters started motors and flicked on running lights. A mesmerizing light show skimmed across the water’s surface.
But we only heard click, click, click. Our boat’s radio had drained the battery. Dead in the water, we called out for help as boaters whizzed precariously past. Finally, a kind family in a pontoon boat saw our predicament and rescued us.
Several years later, my sister and her husband came for a weekend visit on the lake. Once again, the pontoon’s motor died midway through a moonlit cruise. We called out to a lone fisherman two hundred yards away. Fortunately, he heard our SOS and graciously towed us to the dock.
I believe God allows helplessness, disasters, and storms so we will seek and trust Him.
We can all think of those times when we cried out to our heavenly Father—accidents, illnesses, financial struggles—and God answered by sending a rescue team, an angel of mercy, to our sides.
Take a moment and thank God for saving your ship.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and Makalu.)
Macy Johnson is a native Floridian living the lake-life in Georgia. She is an instrument of God’s blessings as a writer, church pianist, community accompanist, wife, mother, nana, Bridge player, adoptee, retired auditor, and member of Word Weavers International. Her “God Sightings” are published weekly in the Greensboro Herald-Journal. Find her at www.macymjohnson.com, macymjohnson@gmail.com, and on Facebook as Macy Martin Johnson.