EMOTIONALLY DROWNING IN THE STRIP PIT OF LIFE
It was a horribly hot summer day. I was eight years old when I almost drowned in the cool water of the strip pit.
My family and my uncle’s family went on a swimming adventure to a strip pit. A strip pit is a large hole in the ground eventually filled with rainwater. The scar in the earth’s surface was caused by strip mining, the removal of long surface strips of soil and rock which cover a mineral deposit, in this case coal.
Once the mining was completed, the empty hole was neglected. Over time, it would fill with rainwater, providing a site for swimming and, in some cases, good bass fishing.
My dad and his brother did not spend their childhoods floating around in some sweet swimming pool. Neither did my mom and aunt. They swam in ponds and creeks. The strip pit water was a great place to take me, my cousin, and our little siblings.
I remember the rocky hill surrounding the area and the small gravel under our feet as I waded into the cool water. Dad and Uncle Derwin would lift and throw ‘Sis’ and me back into the water. Mom and Aunt Dot played with the little kids on the shore.
It was a fun day in the summertime. I watched as Dad and Uncle D.O. carried the little tykes into the water. As I backed up, the gravel bottom gave way. I was in deep water, and I did not know how to swim.
I know. I was eight years old and did not know how to swim. I was a late learner. The lessons from the previous twenty minutes were quickly forgotten. In my defense, I do not recall that I had ever been in any water deeper than the bathtub.
Some of my preschool years were spent out on Tenkiller Lake in a boat. I remember the feeling of fresh air and waterdrops blowing into my face as the boat raced around the lake. I have many fond memories of Tenkiller Lake, but I do not recall swimming there as a young kid.
I was playing in neck-deep water when the strip pit’s small pebble base disintegrated. Suddenly, I was underwater. I panicked as the sight of the family and shoreline was replaced by nothing but water. I flailed around as gulps of water filled my mouth.
I popped up, struggling to catch my breath. I saw everyone, but apparently no one saw me. I fought to swim but submerged again. This time I held my breath as I plunged downward and then floated back to the top of the water.
As my head barely emerged from the surface, I saw that my uncle was looking in my direction. I could not yell for help. Surely my eyes signaled I was in distress.
I actually recall that I had some kind of flashback or memory moment. I remembered hearing the phrase “going down for the third and last time.”
The “third time” phrase refers to approaching failure. It was used to describe a boxer being knocked down three times in one round, which signaled he lost the fight. In my teenage years, Diana Ross and The Supremes sang about “going down for the third time” in a relationship which had her “drowning in tears.”
My wife, Vicki, was a teenage lifeguard. She was awarded the Presidential Honor of Merit for saving a life with CPR. If she had been my lifeguard, I would have gone for the classic fake drowning that the bespeckled, toothy Squints pulled off in The Sandlot to get the attention of the girl of his dreams.
Squint’s brave venture resulted in a mouth-to-mouth kiss from the pretty lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn. As his pal, Smalls, narrated, “He had kissed a woman…and he had kissed her long and good.” Squints ended up marrying Wendy.
If I could duplicate that feat, I could run away from the scene with the smile of victory dancing to the sound of the Drifters singing This Magic Moment.
This magic moment
So different and so new
Was like any other
Until I kiss you
Wake up! Wake up! I am drowning! At this point in my strip pit dilemma, I had no hope of reaching those teenage years. I was going down for the third time. My frightened mind believed it was the last time and the last glance of my dad and uncle.
As I continued to sink into the strip pit abyss, two big hands reached under my arms and raised me high into the sky. My Uncle Derwin saved me. I want to cry as I tell this. He saved me.
Later that year, I realized I was drowning in my sins. I remember the moment God’s love lifted me into a new life. I learned firsthand that God loves first and most. He is always there…at all times…in all things.
Some Monday Moanings might feel as if you are drowning. You have more of something than you need, want, or can handle. Maybe, you are drowning in debt or drowning in sorrow. You might be drowning in your troubles, or depression, or self-pity.
Maybe you just need to drown out these Monday Moanings.
To be consumed by negative emotions can become a horrible feeling. It creates a sense of desperation and hopelessness. I have been there as well. Sometimes it felt as if I were going down for the third and last time. If only there were someone to save me.
Emotionally drowning is not just the feeling of losers. The Psalmist David, a man God commended for having a good heart, often felt the same way.
David compared his negative circumstances to drowning in a dreadful pit filled with mud and mire: “The Lord brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock” (Psalm 40:1-2). His only hope was for the Lord to save him.
Again, in Psalm 62:9, “Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water and drowning in the flood.” David felt helplessly and hopelessly trapped. His only hope was for the Lord to save him.
David’s poetic and metaphoric expressions are connected to experiences we can relate to.
The cards were stacked against him. The stars were not aligned in his favor. The breaks did not go his way. He was going down for the count.
Do you ever feel that way? Certainly, almost every Monday Moaning.
Our only hope is for the Lord to save us.
David encourages us to learn from his experiences. “Trust in the Lord at all times. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8).
When you are going under, you need someone to save you.
The hardest times in my life became my best learning times. I do not wish them on you and do not wish to trade with those in worst experiences. I do hope you learn from my experiences.
The greatest security and greatest joy come with the reassurance you can trust God…at all times…in all things.
I am thankful my uncle saw me. I am eternally grateful the Lord saw me and saved me.
You can trust God…at all times…in all things.
Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else would do
Love lifted me!
Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me! (Love Lifted Me, James Rowe)
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 