This article appeared in His Partners, May-June 1994, (British Columbia Conference). Used with permission.—Via Shepherdess International.
I struggled to wake myself, fighting the awareness of the million things I needed to accomplish in the next 24 hours. I wanted to hang on to oblivion, the absence of pain, pressure, and everyday living. After several attempts to get my feet on the floor, I finally gave in to the demands of another day.
I picked up my long to-do-list and groaned. "I'll never get it done! I've no time for devotions this morning, Lord. I'm sure You understand." I sent up a silent prayer as I tried to decide which job to tackle first.
I fixed breakfast, dropped Ron at the office, and drove to church school to teach a class. Then. I rushed to the doctor's office only to wait for nearly an hour before being seen. From there I hurried to the supermarket for groceries and picked what I thought was the shortest line. What a mistake! Everyone in front of me had unpriced items and the clerk had to call for price checks.
I rushed home to get lunch ready, drove back to the office to pick up my husband, hurriedly ate, then did the dishes. As Ron left to return to work he said, "I need an article written by tomorrow morning. Think you could do it?"
I felt like screaming! How could I add one more thing to my list? I had not completed half of the items I needed to accomplish and it was already three o'clock. I was getting further and further behind. I went to my desk, picked up my journal and wrote out my frustration:
"How, Lord? How? I just want to hole up in front of the fireplace and do nothing, yet I must press on. I have a manuscript to finish, a Sabbath school program to get ready, a company meal to prepare. This week is getting away from me."
To make sure the Lord got my point, I drew Him a picture. I sketched an ocean scene with big waves and a stick figure with head and outstretched arms sinking beneath the surface. I wrote the caption, each word one line lower on the page until the last word was at the very bottom, "Help, Lord! Help! I'm drowning, and I've no strength to swim!"
Then I opened my Bible to Acts 27, the story of Paul's shipwreck, where I had last stopped reading. The words of verse 44 seemed to leap out at me and I chuckled at their appropriateness: "And they escaped all safe to land."
I could hear God speaking to my frustrated heart, "Dorothy, just as I was able to see Paul safely to land, I can see you safely to the end of this task, this day, this week. You will not drown!"
Has the multitude of tasks you face as a mother and a pastor's wife caused you to want to throw up your hands and scream, "Help, Lord, I'm drowning"? Take a few minutes out, turn on some soft music, put up your feet, and let God whisper to your harried heart, "I can see you safely to the end of this task, this day, this week. I am with you. not let you drown!"
