Southern Indiana Living . July / August 2021

Everyday Adventures
I
never planned to be a lifeguard in the
Smokies, but that’s just how it worked
out. My wife’s family used to own
some old cabins on a river near the
Great Smoky Mountains national park.
One of the most entertaining parts of vacationing
there was watching tubers go
down the rapids just upstream.
There was a big drop at the bottom,
and if the river was up, it could flip your
inner tube or at least take your breath
away. If the river was down, you could
get stuck.
Now there’s stuck and there’s stuck.
Most people would get hung up for a
minute, rock their tube from side-to-side,
eventually dislodge themselves and continue
on their way. But there were a few
people I saw over the years who weren’t
going anywhere without some help.
That’s where I came in.
I had two little girls who loved to
play for hours in the shallow side of the
rapids, building dams and floating sticks
downstream. That put me sitting awkwardly
on a nearby rock when people got
themselves into trouble. I tried to mind
my own business unless someone was really
in a jam, but then I’d do what I could
to help. Usually that meant rescuing a lost
tube or shoving someone free.
One poor young lady, however,
needed a whole other level of assistance.
I heard her screaming the second she hit
the rapids. Nothing unusual there. People
usually whooped and hollered as they
bobbed down the river.
But this girl kept yelling. That’s
when I knew there might be a problem.
Everyone in her group had made it
through the rapids just fine, but somehow
she’d gotten separated from the herd.
You see, just after the rapids, there’s
a bend in the river, where the stream
bounces off the side of a mountain. The
main current takes you left, away from
the cliff and down to a tranquil swimming
hole.
This tuber, however, got caught up
in a side current and went right, which
slammed her up against the mountain.
Now here she was stuck in a crook in the
river, staring at a sheer rock wall with the
current pushing against her. In her mind,
I’m sure, all hope was lost.
What she didn’t realize was all she
had to do was use her feet to shove off
from the rock and she’d be fine. She was
past the rapids and the current would
carry her downstream where her friends
were waiting for her.
30 • July/Aug 2021 • Southern Indiana Living
Facing the Mountain
In fact, if she’d turned around, she
would have seen her entire party had
stopped just a few hundred feet away.
They called to her, but their voices were
drowned out by the rush of the water.
The rapids must have really shaken
her up because by this point, she was
borderline hysterical. She kept wailing,
“They left me! They left me!”
I was on the other side of the river,
and waded out close enough where she
could hear my voice. The current was too
strong for me to cross without a tube, so
I calmly explained to her no one had left
her and she wasn’t trapped. All she had
to do was kick off with her feet, and she’d
be free.
But she wouldn’t listen. She just kept
crying that everyone had left her and she
didn’t know what to do. I took a deep
breath and explained it again. She was in
no danger. She wasn’t left behind, and it
would just take one push to set her free.
Again more crying. The mountain
and the current were more convincing
than anything I had to say. I took another
breath and tried again.
“You’re fine,” I said. “Everyone’s
waiting for you. Just push off in the other
direction and the river will do the rest.”
I’m not sure how long it took me,
but eventually I got through. She drew
back her feet and then shoved off as hard
as she could. A few minutes later she was
reunited with her family, and they moved
on downstream.
I didn’t blame her for losing it.
Sometimes when you’re up against a wall,
you can’t think straight. Life has a way
of shaking us up and slamming us into
some tight spots. We feel the pressure at
our backs, and all we can see is the mountain
looming in front of us. In our darkest
times, we may even feel abandoned,
thinking we’re in this mess totally alone.
In times like that, I’ve been thankful
for the lifeguards in my life, the people
The mountain and the current were more
convincing than anything I had to say. I took
another breath and tried again.
who’ve reminded me of the truth. We’re
not alone and we don’t have to stay stuck.
God is always with us, waiting for us to
push in His direction and let Him handle
the rest. When we’re facing the mountain,
we lose hope fast, but when we focus on
God, everything changes.
As James 4:8 puts it, “Come near to
God and he will come near to you” (NIV).
So if you’re up against a mountain
today, find someone who can remind
you of what’s true. There’s a God who
loves you, who’s waiting to lead you to
waters of life and peace. •
Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and
dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends
his way every day. You can read more from
Jason in his books Tales from the Leaf Pile and
Holiday Road. You can catch up with Jason on
his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com.