I have been thinking about life vests, aka, life jackets, a lot lately…. Ever since Thursday when I went tubing down the Arkansas River. (Read my Adventures in Love #3 blog for that story). I even googled life vests and read about the different ones and which ones are the best. I learned about the different weights and buoyancy of the different vests.

The research was really quite interesting. There are different life vests for different water activities. Boating requires a different life vest than whitewater rapids. I learned the dire importance of keeping that life vest snug and tight. Life vest straps can loosen easily in the water, so it is a good idea to keep checking those straps. I learned that the weight of a life vest depends on how much you weigh in the water, not how much you actually weigh on land.

On Thursday, when I was tumbling around in the strong current, I panicked. I forgot, I had my life vest on. If I had just remembered that it was already strapped around me, I might have tried swimming out of that current. Other people had been doing it – all day long. I panicked though! I forgot the purpose of the life jacket. I forgot to stay calm. I wasn’t going to drown, my life vest was helping to keep me afloat.

Life vests keep a person in the water afloat and alive – until help arrives. Not all the time, but about 80/85% of the time. That time gives you a grace period to get out of the troubled waters.

In life, we also have a life jacket on, the safety of God’s Love.

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When life gets overwhelming and we feel like we are drowning in a world of trouble and stress, God’s Love wraps around us like a life vest, with the straps pulled snug. When we feel that love we can feel safe and secure.

Life Vests go through a lot of testing to make sure that they are buoyant enough to keep one afloat. Some even help turn you over onto your back if you are face down. Love Lifted Me is a hymn that reminds me of the buoyancy of God’s Love. “Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help love lifted me.” If I had not been wearing that life vest on Thursday afternoon, I honestly think, they would not have fished me out of the river alive – either that or I would’ve been a lot worse. I am so very grateful for that life vest. I am even more grateful that God loves me… amazing grace, unfailing love.

Life Vests:

Float on His grace.

Rest in His Mercy.

Trust that help is soon on the way.

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Trust the Life Vest. Trust in God’s unfailing love.

Positively, Debbie