The Key to Survival - Part 1

What do zip-lines, whirlpools and life have in common?

As a young girl, I often went swimming with my friends. We loved to create a whirlpool. Each of us would move the water in one direction until the current was strong enough to move us. Three or four times around the pool – we were good to go. That’s how I learned to float. As long as I picked up my feet and relaxed myself from head to toe, I was carried safely with the current. Not as easy as it sounds! After mouths-full of water and being sucked down a few times, I was determined to learn the key to survival. And I did. What was the key to survival? Hold that thought.

Just recently I experienced my first zip-line. The climb was a challenge in itself not because I was moving further from my feet touching ground but because I knew what I needed to do to get back down… jump with a capital ‘where’s the elevator!’

The attendee gave me two options: jump forward or jump backward. Jump had to be in both choices? Okay, so I chose backward, that way I wouldn’t see the ground coming at me. That’s when he removed one of the harnesses. “Uh-hello?” That went against the grain of my thinking – about life and death – but I swallowed my pride and gave him the benefit of a doubt. On his count of three, I stepped off. I screamed the whole way down - but SURPRISE! not the way you might expect. “This is awesome!” I yelled. What was the key to survival? Not yet. Hold on to that thought too.

The bills came all at once, the same day my dryer decided it was time to permanently quit half-way through the load. I didn’t have a clothes line to hang the clothes. Even so, it was raining. All laundromats were closed. My dog decided my daughter’s new shoe tasted better than the dog-chews guaranteed dogs would love. According to who? Spills. Overbakes. Headaches. Bellyaches. Out of milk... Time out!

I headed over to the computer to find solace with some friends on Facebook. Blank screen. Why oh why didn’t I run that virus scan as I was warned? I decided to just call it a day – a day I’d rather forget no less – and go to bed after spending a few moments in devotions. With words of encouragement soaking into me, I turned out the light and sank into my spot. I finally felt the peace I was seeking all day. That’s when my daughter came in and told me she signed up to bring the snack for a school project the next day. But I slept great that night any way. What was the key to survival? I’ll let you think on that a little … But I’ll be back to share not just one but a set of three keys to survival when facing a challenge / event or when you are challenged.

(Just for the record – This is about survival in the simpler sense. Sometimes life comes at us really hard and we occasionally may be faced with very serious issues such as illness, injury, death… I will post in a future post about survival through the storms… but for now, I hope this will help shed light on getting through less serious issues of life.)

Blessings on you dear one, and glory to God!

Bonny.