Picture this:

You’re on holiday (I think it’s much more fun saying holiday than vacation) in Scotland and you’ve always wanted to visit Loch Ness.  Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of Nessie.  So you take a lake cruise.  And when you’re in the middle of the cruise–the middle of the loch–you fall overboard.

The water is soooooooo cold–probably 42 degrees or so, if you’re lucky.  You suck in your breath, but manage to not swallow any water.  You have to get moving.  You know how quickly hypothermia sets in.

“Help!” you shout.  But no one on the boat is looking in your direction.  That won’t work.

So you look around, trying to figure out which shore is closest.  You kick off your shoes and start to swim.

You’ve got 20 minutes before hypothermia sets in–if you’re lucky.

You swim and swim and swim, trying to remember everything you learned back in swimming lessons when you were 10.

All kinds of thoughts begin to invade your mind.

Not only are you thinking about swimming techniques, your brain reminds you of all that you’ve read about hypothermia.

Then your brain ponders what would happen if Nessie came along right about now.  Hopefully, she’s a vegetarian.  Maybe she’s friendly and, like the dolphins you’ve heard about who rescue people who are drowning.

And as you’re swimming and wishing for a helpful dolphin or Loch Ness monster to come along and help you to shore, your brain reminds you of all the creatures who wouldn’t be quite so nice.  After all, you’ve watched every Shark Week and every episode of River Monsters.

There aren’t likely any sharks here.  And hopefully there aren’t any of those aggressive large fish that like to eat people.

But you can’t help feeling the anxiety any way.  After all, you probably look like some tiny, helpless animal paddling away there on the surface of the lake.

Is your heart pounding yet?

What if you keep swimming for all you’re worth and you don’t get any closer to land?  You can feel your fingers and toes going numb.  Your brain starts to feel fuzzy.

That’s not good.  That’s hypothermia.

For a moment, the brain fog clears and you see very clearly–in slow motion–those few seconds before you fell off the boat.  Someone pushed you!

Fortunately, I haven’t been pushed off a boat.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been to Loch Ness much less Scotland.

Mentally, though, I’ve been there a lot.

That’s how depression makes me feel.

That’s how anxiety makes me feel.

I feel like I’m drowning.

It never starts that way.  Usually, it’s like a little trickle of water.  But all of a sudden, I’m treading water that’s over my head and hypothermia is setting in.

You know, there’s normal stress.  Work, school, life stuff.  Then family stuff happens.  Then suddenly there’s 5 big projects due at work within the next 2 months.  And then a friend gets cancer.  It keeps building and building and building.

And all of a sudden, there’s the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.  An super-simple assignment, a speeding ticket, that rabbit that ran out in front of the car and went to bunny heaven thanks to me.  And I can’t keep it together any more.

Some seasons, I’m more prone.  Like rainy seasons–monsoon seasons–dry seasons.

It was during one of these seasons that I rediscovered Psalm 130.

verse 1:

Help, God–the bottom has fallen out of my life (Message)

From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for Your help (NLT)

From a sea of troubles I cry out to you, Lord (CEV)

verse 2:

Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! (ESV)

verse 3:

Lord, if You kept a record of our sins, who, Lord, could ever survive? (NLT)

If you kept a record of our sins, no one could last long. (CEV)

verse 4:

But you forgive us, and so we will worship you (CEV)

As it turns out, forgiveness is Your habit, and that’s why You’re worshiped (Message)

verse 5:

I pray to God–my life a prayer–and wait for what he’ll say and do (Message)

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope (NASB)

verse 6:

My life’s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning (Message)

I wait for you more eagerly than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn.  Yes, I wait more eagerly than a soldier on guard duty waits for the dawn (CEV)

verse 7:

Israel, trust the Lord! God is always merciful and has the power to save you (CEV)

O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows (NLT)

verse 8:

No doubt about it–he’ll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity to sin (Message)

Israel, the Lord will save you from all your sins (CEV)

*******

And if it weren’t for the hope that I found here…and for some caring people intervening in my life, I don’t know where I would be.  Or if I’d still be here.  They helped pull me out of the deep water.

God doesn’t need anybody to help him pull people out of the depths.

But he works through people anyway.

So extend a hand when you see someone sinking into despair or depression.

And when you’re sinking, the lake isn’t nearly as deep as it feels.  And you’ve survived it before.  You can do it again.  You will get through this.

I will get through this.  I’ve done it before.  I will do it again.

And if you need help, if you’re sinking, I’m here.