By: Lynette Gracious Frantz

I was about to drown -- frantically transitioning from this world to the next ...

Patriotic emotions were vocalising in the air as India was celebrating it's freedom 'The Independence Day' on the 15th of August, while at the same time few families including mine were disquieted to the devastating circumstances which chanced upon their lives.

The joy of acquiring a holiday drafted our getaway to one of a beach known as the Mandvi beach. Our church planned out this trip with Church youths along with few parents and elders of the church. This sea beach is located at a distance of 10 KM away from Mandvi town. Our plan for the whole trip was included with interactions amongst the natives living in the interior desert belt. We spent the whole day living their experiences and culture.

The day was proceeding towards dusk, while we youths were persisting to dash of to the beach. We reached the beach an hour before sunset and each one of us got involved into our perspective choices. Some chose the swing, few went for the horse ride, few of my friends jumped into the boat while I took the adventure of being with the camels taking them around to click few pictures.

As I was along the way to the dunes my friends lured me up to the oceanic fantasy. The roar of the echoing gigantic waves hitting hard against the shore was the song of the sea which could not be restricted. I jumped into the water along with my friends engrossed in talking, laughing and pulling each other. Being a national holiday the beach was crowded, so our activities were not evident to our concerned elders who were enjoying their time on the shore. The skies were blue and the environment was cool. We were all in the tidal waves with our feet grounded close together laughing and enjoying the sea to unpredictably become aware of each one of us being thrown right into the mid sea with friends scattered in a distance. I could not locate the ground beneath my feet and the tidal waves were snatching me away from life. We raised our hands for help, due to the obstructive crowd no one realized our catastrophic condition. Three of us were in a proximity with our visual contacts connecting and conveying the ordeal and the despair of our fight to survive. With the gulping of the salty water, aggravating it with the timely high tides I realised we three were defiantly passing through the call of death.

Meanwhile my group were being rescued and one of us among the three was also lifted out as she was noticeable while the two of us were parted away deep into the sea with the tides fortifying us away from the the rescuers. I lost my strength and I realized my arms and legs were exhausted, I was out of breath and I knew I was in trouble. Praison and I wished our goodbyes through the sign language and unexpectedly a frail boy right in the middle of the sea grabbed my hair  -- wound it in his wrist and started pulling me out. It was a difficult task for him with the tides playing hide and seek between us. I was a girl with heavy bones.  He gave up as my weight was drowning him.

I pleaded with him to rescue me but he was out of strength.  My tears moved his heart and God gave him the supernatural strength to drag me out of the water.

Once back to shore, I couldn't talk and express my gratitude. Frantically, I pulled his shirt and pointed my hand towards the sea, showing him the red colored shirt floating above. The color red easily identified the spot and the boy dived towards him, rescuing my friend as well.

Sharing this experience is my way of thanking God for the miracle ... the way He provided for us ... I believe an angel, to rescue us.

I can testify the emotions every drowning or a drowned person encounters. With me gulping the salty waters and aggravating it with the timely high tides during my transition period, my choked emotions visualize the slide of the person with whom my umbilical cord was bonded, along with my father and siblings. The frames of wailing within the family slides through. In the midst of my ordeal I cried out to the Lord pleading him to give me a chance for the significant water baptism which I had not partaken. My immature mind never grasped the depth of God's love that He empathizes situations.

How could I deny the existence of God? Sharing with you are the experiences of a drowning girl and her faith deep-rooted in her scriptures, which gets evident while colliding with the catastrophic conditions and she distinctively recognizes the voice she reads right through the scriptures during her ordeal and consequently affirms to His Omnipresence.

Remembering 15th August 2009

Dear Reader - are you at peace with God?  If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW!  Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake. 

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Remember:  All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)