Father would never let go

Some years ago on a hot summer day, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind their house. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam towards the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming towards the shore. His father, seeing the situation, ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.

Hearing his father’s horrified voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim back to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him.

From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched the boy’s legs. So began an incredible tug-of-war between man and beast. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate never to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard the 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 father’s fingernails dug into his flesh in an effort to hang on to the son he loved so much.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked to see the boy’s 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 Dad’ wouldn’t let go of me!”

Everyone can probably identify with that little boy. Everyone has scars, too – no, maybe not from an alligator, but the scars from other painful experiences. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.

But some people have scars – because of God’s refusal to let go of them in the midst of their most difficult struggles. Other people are wounded right now, because God is holding fast on to them and would never let go. Any loving father would not let go of his beloved child.

Each person, young and old, is a child of God. He is the most loving Father who wants to protect and provide for his children in every way. Sometimes His children naively wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead.

Life is a swimming hole filled with peril – and sometimes people forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-of-war begins, and those that have the scars of His love on their arms are actually very lucky. They are the ones who have experienced God’s refusal to let go of them.

And those who have been lucky to witness God’s love shall try to be a blessing to others. Many scars are not visible, but their causes are deep and terrible wounds just the same. While people shall not be ashamed of their scars, those that have no scars shall not look down on those that are scarred, either.

Right now, for sure there is someone nearby hurting who needs to know that God loves him. This is an opportunity for another person around to be God’s sparrow, bringing His healing love to the wounded.

(www.nairaland.com)