Chapter One
HE IS A GOD
OF DELIVERANCE."Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance
the Lord will bring you today."
-Exodus 14:13
OUT OF THE CHURNING WATERS"We felt we were doomed to die and saw how
powerless we were to help ourselves; but that
was good, for then we put everything into
the hands of God, who alone could save us,
for he can even raise the dead."
-2 Corinthians 1:9-10, LB
When summer approached, my parents prepared for their
yearly vacation to visit friends and relatives in far-off states.
I'd gone with them numerous times across the scorching
desert, following the never-ending white lines stretching
for miles of highway. Now as a teenager I wanted the
freedom to spend time with my friends, practice guitar,
hike in the mountains, and swim in our pool. I finally persuaded
my parents to leave me at home, convincing them
I'd be perfectly safe while they were away.
The day dawned beautiful and warm in Southern
California. With Mom and Dad gone I felt I could do whatever
I liked. Having the house all to myself sounded good,
but then my friend Ross called and asked if I wanted to go
snorkeling at Newport Beach. He'd called to check on the
surf conditions and found the day would be mild with a
low undertow and clear visibility-perfect for snorkeling.
I did not have snorkeling equipment, so I borrowed
some fins and a wet suit. The booties were missing, so I
substituted tennis shoes. I tied the laces tightly on both
sides around the fins' steel buckles.
Since daylight hours were much longer in the summer,
we weren't too concerned about starting out late. By
the time we arrived, it was still nice out, and the sandy
beach looked beautiful with rhythmic waves splashing
against the shoreline.
Ross and I swam out a good distance and dove,
checking out the fish among the seaweed. We planned to
dive down and look at shafts of sunlight that caused spectacular
displays of fluorescent blue, green, and orange.
Ross stopped to break open a sea urchin so he
could feed the fish surrounding us when he noticed the
water becoming turbulent and murky. While surfacing
a few moments later, he told me the conditions looked
risky and we should make our way back to shore. Since
the riptide was increasing, Ross suggested getting out of
the water where large rocks provided a calm break in the
surf.
I followed him with my snorkel up and face in
the water. We progressed slowly, fighting the choppy
current.
Finally, I felt my fins hitting the bottom and tried
to stand up. But when I looked forward, I saw we were
surrounded by a tunnel of water reaching up over our
heads. The water had been drawn up between two rows
of rocks that extended about a hundred yards into the
ocean, spread about 15 feet apart. We'd been swimming
in the middle of it!
Before I could react, what seemed like tons of water
came crashing down on me.
Okay, God, here we go, I thought, as I spun around
underwater holding my head, trying to protect myself. I
then cried out, "God, please help us get out of this!" as the
water tossed me from side to side in what appeared to be
an impossible situation to escape.
The next thing I remember was rolling onto my side
on top of a giant rock. I got to my feet and realized I'd
been thrown completely out of the water and was now
standing on a high cliff about 15 feet above the surf.
Seconds before, I'd frantically tried to escape the churning
mass and the danger of being crushed to death.
As I struggled to survive, God had swept me up and
placed me in a safe place, high upon a rock. I gazed at the
hazardous turbulence below and searched for Ross. "Oh,
God," I prayed, "please save Ross, too!"
Moments later I shouted with relief when my friend
ran toward me. He, too, had been thrown clear of danger.
I gave him a bear hug as I joyfully pounded his back.
When I stooped down to evaluate my condition, I
realized my feet hurt-the fins were gone, the steel buckles
still dangling from the tennis shoe laces. The powerful
waves had ripped the fins from my feet. My knee was
bleeding from an abrasion underneath a four-inch cut in
my wet suit. Otherwise I felt fine-no injuries a bandage
couldn't handle. But when my sister Sheri saw me, she
exclaimed, "Your bruises are huge!"
Several weeks later Mom questioned me: "Did anything
dangerous happen while we were away?" Usually, I
would've tried to evade or deny an answer. I didn't want
her to think I couldn't handle my own life, but she had a
different tone in her voice. When I confessed what had
happened that day, she shared her amazing experience of
how God had awakened her from sleep to pray for me. I
confirmed it was no coincidence.
Mom said she and Dad had arrived in Pennsylvania
on the day of our snorkeling scare. She retired early,
weary from the trip, but an overwhelming urge to pray
for me awakened her. Not knowing why I needed prayer,
she asked for my protection and that whatever the circumstances
God would be near and keep me safe. She
told me she realized she could do nothing to protect me,
and she placed me in God's hands.
In the aftermath of that terrifying event my friend
and I stood in awe, watching the waves break far below
the top of the cliff where we stood. We agreed God had
rescued us; we could've been killed, hurled against those
boulders. Without God's intervention neither of us could
explain what had happened. We watched for a long time,
astonished that the waves never once came anywhere
near as high as the rock where we landed.
I often paraphrase David in Psalm 40:2 when I look
back on that day: God pulled me out of the churning
waters and placed me safely upon a rock.
Robert Dallas Mehl, as told to Loretta Miller Mehl
(Continues.)