Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy
decided
to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.
In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door,
leaving
behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not
realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator
was
swimming toward the shore. His mother, in the house and looking out the
window, saw the two as they got closer and closer together.
In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly
as
she
could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a
U-turn to
swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the
alligator
reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the
arms
just as the alligator snatched his legs.
That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was
much
stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let
go.
A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck,
took
aim and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy
survived.
His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal.
And, on
his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into
his
flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked
if he
would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with
obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have
great
scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go."
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No,
not
from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past! Some of those scars
are
unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend,
are
because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's
been
there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You
are a
child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way.
But
sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what
lies
ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril and we forget
that
the
enemy is waiting to attack.
That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His
love on
your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not, and will not, ever let
you
go.
Please pass this on. God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing
to
others. You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what
they
are going through. Never judge another person's scars, because you
don't
know how they got them.
Also, it is so important that we are not selfish to receive the
blessings of
these messages without forwarding them to someone else.
Right now, someone needs to know that God loves them, and that you love
them
too enough to not let them go.
God Bless!
