Buoy

We have a place in Austin that is on a marina cul-de-sac. Our main window looks out to the front of the cove and onto the main body. When entering the cove from the main body of water there is one of those tall floating buoys that says, "No Wake". Well for months, and I am now talking almost a year, the lake has been slightly down and the buoy has been laying on its side. I seem to be the only one who is constantly bothered by this in my family and maybe even in the complex of homeowners that use the cove. I have made the calls and made the requests to the proper authorities to have it repaired but to no avail. And truly seeing it on its side just makes me crazy, and then when you pass it by boat, you see it covered with moss and algae and it is just yuck to look at.

Well, the New Years Eve weekend came and we were at the lake with a house full and I again looked out the window in remorse wishing that that buoy was not in my sight every time I looked out the window. I have made the request to my husband to fix it, and he usually tries to comply with my honey do's, but this was a chore over and beyond his interest. It apparently did not bother him as much, or really at all. Oh but my daughter Jennifer heard my usual complaint and upon boat load up to go feed the swans, she ran back up to the house to grab some towels and proudly, with a huge smile, held up tools she had gathered while she was there. Mel asked what they were for and she casually responded in jest, just in case we might need them. Not sure at the time if he figured out her ploy, but we were off to take a boat ride and feed the swans.

We were headed back into the cove at our usual no wake speed and Jenn said "Dad, just stop a minute at the buoy and let us just investigate what it would take to get this thing standing again." He complied, and upon close observation, with our shoes off and pants rolled up, it was just as we had thought. There is a cable attached to the buoy and then to a cement anchor below. We tried pulling it up to gain some slack in the cable line but it was heavy. I was ready to concede and move on but Jenn does not let go of projects lightly, and after pulling a little harder got it to budge so project was on and hope initiated.

Together we pulled and pulled, boat in neutral bubbling all the while up the crevices of the back footboard, and we finally pulled the buoy on the back of the footboard and slacked the line enought to tie it around the back cleat for leverage and we got the tools and got after it. It smelled awful, and talk about slimy...but we held tough. We pried loose the quadruple slimy, algae coated knot with pliers, pulled the cord up, eight inch or so to make the needed adjustment, cleaned the algae off the side that had been lying in the water with cleanser with paper towels (always in the boat) and threw that buoy back in the water with great expectation. We had done it!!!!! Oh we were nasty though and smelled like crud from the bottom of the lake...oh but we were successful and the buoy was now floating in a standing position. Mel too, I might add, did his job well, watching the kids and keeping the boat from floating into the bank. In his heart he knew that Jennifer and I both love challenges like this, and he as the driver had enabled our success.

Ever feel like that buoy? That you are just down and you don't have the means to get standing again? And the only way to get up and stand up is with help. I have been like that buoy, and so, I bet, have many of you. I have it in me to float but all the things that I had depended on seem to have left me stranded in a horizontal position and are no longer high enough to keep me contained into an upright position of posture. I think about all those folks who have boated by that buoy, did they care, did they notice, did it matter that it was lopsided? And I am sure you have wondered the same thing when you have been down. How long must I stay in this position? The answer is as long as nothing changes.

The lake water has remained down so the buoy had no chance to change positions, until something about the structure of the buoy changed; the line had to be shortened. That is the way we are with God! If we get into a situation that is pulling us down, we need to shorten our line with God. Bring him a little closer. The situations around us may not change but he can change us. He can change out attitudes, our perspective, our outlook and our thoughts. The closer we allow God to be to us the better posture we will be able to withstand.

Christ is the overseer of all that we do and he knows when we are down and out and lopsided. But what we forget is that there is a line of attachment with Christ that keep us tethered and anchored in spite of the circumstances around us. When the circumstances around us cause us to fall, that is when we have to undo the knots of old ways and tighten up with new established knots of GOD'S courage and strength.

I am sure you have heard the quote many times in relation to many a situation but it is one that I have written on little porcelain boxes in my house and hold close to my heart for reflection and decision: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Reinhart Niebuhi

We can stay tumbled in a position of tilted resolve or we can ask God to help us by tightening the tether line that he has with us. For from that line, he gives us ability to float when the waters have fallen, and faith to be confident in spite of the circumstances, and he will help us to stand tall under the winds of adversity. For he has tethered our life with his to make us better and build us to be bolder and to trust him in all situations. He is the anchor who holds us close to his plans and purposes and keeps us from drifting into the banks of frustration and distress. God has given us the ability to stand tall in the midst of adversity If only we keep our line with him taut and unwavering. Hard to do sometimes, but always worthy of the effort.

Psalm 40:2
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I wil look out at the buoy and always remember that a taut line with God is what gives me the ability to stand tall. It is when it is slacked that I fall.

Dear Lord, Thank you for helping me to fix the buoy. May it be a reminder that I too need to be fixed and adjusted on a daily basis and can only do it by allowing you to tighten the line that tethers me to you. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!