He washed away my fears
June 14, 2010
by Spencer Flaniken
One weekend in October 2009, I went on a camping trip with the youth group to a state park near Ormond Beach. We drove over to the beach to enjoy an afternoon of football and swimming. While there we noticed a lifeguard struggling to pull in a large man. Both were fighting a rip current. A group of us promptly rushed out into the water and tried to help the lifeguard carry the man in. He was obviously unconscious by the time we brought him in, and after emergency personnel attempted CPR he was pronounced dead. The good news is that we were able to save his brother, whom he had been swimming with at the time.
Fast forward to May 30, 2010: the day I competed in a triathlon. I realized going into it that it was at Ormond Beach and this reminded me of the failed rescue. What I didn't expect was for it to be at the exact same spot on the beach as where we went on the camping trip. This brought back some emotional memories, but none greater than when the race started and we all went piling into the ocean. That feeling of running through waves, trying to get out there as fast as I could, was exactly like that fateful day. I started feeling abnormally short of breath and just mentally out of it. I couldn't help but think that these were the same waves that I saw claim a life a few months earlier.
BUT then... all of a sudden the memory verses that I've been working on for Sunday school (Ezra 7:10, Jeremiah 33:3, Galatians 2:20, and Ephesians 2:18 etc.) started going through my head. By the time I was done reciting all of them, all the while swimming, I had regained my breath and strength. They reminded me that God was with me, by my side, giving me the strength to make it through the water.
AND then... I made it back in time for church. As I walked in, we were singing "Hosanna - Praise is Rising." The lyrics "Cause when we see you we find strength to face the day. In Your presence all our fears are washed away." made me shudder. I saw God that morning, through memorized scripture, and He gave me strength to face the race and he washed my fears away in the waters of Ormond Beach.