You Make Me Brave

In 2012, Jordan and I rented a camper from the Air Force’s Outdoor Rec. department and headed to King Mountain State Park in Sutton, AK to camp with our friends, the Whitneys and Durhams, over Memorial Day Weekend (we lived in Anchorage, AK at the time for those that are just joining me).

This was the first time we had ever rented a camper, but we wanted to test the waters because buying a camper was in our near future.  It was a cute little Scamp trailer, with just enough room inside for the two of us, and of course, Layla-doo.  It was all hard-sided, and even had a little heater to keep us warm at night!

"The Rig"

The first day we arrived, we set everything up and took a walk down by the river with the kids so they could fly their new kites.  This river was fed by a glacier melting further up north, so the water was colder than you can imagine.  The river was low, but still flowing at a good pace.  However, because it was low, there was plenty of rocky open space beside it to play on.  We spent awhile down there, teaching the kids how to get their kites in the air, but we probably spent most of our time untangling strings.  We took Layla down there with us, and tested out how she would do off-leash in a wide-open space.  She did well, returning to us every time we called her.

After awhile, we all went back up and sat around the fire.  We fed Layla her dinner, and Jordan decided he would take her for a walk back down by the river to do her business.  I reminded him to keep her on her leash, even though she had her shock collar on (a remote-controlled collar we used to train her with), just in case she lost her sensibility and didn’t come when called.

As we were sitting around the campfire, I suddenly had this thought that Jordan had been gone for a long time.  I expressed my concern to my friends, and they just reassured me he took her on a long walk to tire her out.

About five minutes later, Jordan and Layla show up soaking wet!

“OHMYGOSH, WHAT HAPPENED?!” I shouted.

Then Jordan proceeded to share the story:

Apparently they were walking along the river, and he decided to let Layla off her leash.  Being the ADD dog she is, she saw a leaf floating in the water and decided to jump in after it.  Almost immediately, she realized she couldn’t swim in the fast current and looked at Jordan in panic as she started being carried away!  Jordan said he thought to himself, “Oh crap, Amy’s gonna kill me if I don’t bring this dog back.”  So without thinking any further, he jumped in after her, boots and clothes on, wallet, cell phone, and collar remote in his pockets.  His footing was quickly taken away from him, too and he also started floating down river! He started trying to swim over to Layla, as she was making her way towards the opposite side of the river, and about 100 yards away the river turned into rapids.  Eventually he was able to reach her and dig his feet into the riverbed to make his way back to the shore.

The whole ordeal took about 60 seconds.  In water that cold, any longer and I would have lost them both to hypothermia.  Their bodies would have given out and neither one of them would have been able to swim. 

As he is sharing this, our friends start laughing and harassing him!  But I started tearing up and getting very angry.  After all, he could have died in that water.  People die all the time in frigid water.  In one minute, I could have lost my husband and my beloved dog.  I didn’t find the humor in the story.

So why am in recounting this story almost three years later?

I guess because about four months ago, God reminded me of it while I was singing in worship at RC (our church’s youth group, Revolution Church, that I was volunteering with).   The band starting singing these new lyrics I had never heard before:

“You make me brave,

You make me brave.

You call me out beyond the shore into the waves.

You make me brave.

You make me brave.

No fear can hinder now the love that made a way.”

It was the chorus to a new Bethel Music song.  Wow.  Those words just hit me like a brick.

Then God reminded me of Jordan’s bravery to save Layla in the river that day.  He didn’t think about it.  He didn’t even hesitate long enough to leave his wallet and cell phone on shore.  He just… jumped in.

I want a faith like that. 

You see, sometimes we (Christians) get really caught up in all the fancy theology, doctrine, and Law, and forget to just trust God in everything.  Don’t get me wrong… studying God’s Word left, right, front, and back through Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and concordances is all really great.  In fact, I don’t think we do it enough to benefit our personal walk with God.  

But sometimes often we hesitate to be obedient to God’s call on our life because we can’t seem to justify the risk and the reward.  We are told following Jesus is going to cost us everything.  EVERYTHING?! 

“Everything” huh?

That’s a hefty word.  And it includes, but is not limited to this short list: your finances, family, career, home, child-raising, schooling, purchases, vacations, rest time, eating habits, addictions, entertainment choices, language, relationships… etc., etc., etc.

I once heard that true obedience is two things: immediate and joyful.

When God asks me to do something, to be something, to say something, to be somewhere, how quickly do I just jump into the task?  And even if I do, what is my heart attitude like?

I’m reminded of the verse in 1 Samuel 16:7: “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them.  People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God doesn’t even care about the acts of obedience, if my heart is ugly and unwilling! 

Since these song lyrics were being sung at a youth group event, I strongly felt the Lord speaking to me about students in the room that were hesitating to answer His call, His hand reaching out to them that night, because they were too afraid to jump in and give up everything.  I get it kids.  It is so scary.  But we also need to remember the rest of the promise: “No fear can hinder now the love that made a way!”  When we truly follow God’s call on our lives, we allow Him to fill any void left behind by sacrificing a relationship, habit, whatever… and leave in its place unconditional love.

And that love is so worth it.  Thank you Lord for making be brave, to even face this day and all the unknowns that come with it!

King Mountain and the infamous river are behind us in this photo... you can see how low the water was at this part, but it got very fast just a short distance away!

** I have another post coming soon about a time when God asked me to be obedient recently, and the testimony He gave me through it.  So stay tuned!