Where in the world was she?
When the girls started floating on their blow-up rafts at the beach, all was well. They held on each other’s raft forming a kind of triangle on the waves as they relaxed in the blazing sun.
They relaxed until they fell asleep!
Two of the girls woke up and saw that the third girl wasn’t with them. Of course, they panicked and looked around, but failed to see her or her bright red raft.
They quickly made it to shore, paddling furiously sending up splashes in the hot sun.
Meanwhile, the third girl woke up alone.
She couldn’t see the beach, the shore line, or any of the hotels which were single or two-story at the most. High-rise condos weren’t built then.
“I was so scared! I don’t think I have ever been so afraid. I had no landmark, just the wide ocean and waves. I had no idea which direction to take, or how to get back to safety and the land,” she told me.
“Then I noticed the waves were going in a pattern and figured they must be rolling toward the shoreline. I hoped I was right and started paddling with all my strength.”
“I was still afraid and not sure I was going in the right direction. What if I was heading out to the open sea?”
“After a while, I could see the white beach and the waves crashing on it. I was filled with relief as I made my way up the beach. There were no hotels where I was, so I decided to try to walk to the place we were staying, hoping I was going the right direction again. Maybe I would see some people I could ask.”
“I trudged along and saw two girls running down the beach towards me. Sure enough, it was my two friends! I felt overwhelming relief!”
They ran up to me and we all hugged.
“We didn’t tell your mama we lost you yet, we didn’t want to get you or us in trouble!”
“I was just happy to be on land, safe and able to find my way to our hotel. Mama still doesn’t know about our escapade! Or how much danger I was in that day.”
In life, we need direction or we will be lost.
Spiritually, we need direction, and the right one, or we will by lost eternally. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, God, the Bible give us direction. Jesus is the only way to God’s salvation. He told us: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
If you are lost, find Jesus, the narrow gate, and get on the right road!
