Secure

She had a beautiful smile and her son, who was about 5 years old, had gorgeous brown eyes. They pulled into the campground the day after we did. It didn't take them long to put up their tent trailer and dining tent next to us. Their son scooted around waiting patiently while mom and dad were setting up.
I had gone into the trailer for something and when I came out I joined Nic and Mark in the river that ran behind our campsite. The boys got my attention and nodded towards the neighbours with a smile, I turned to see what they were smiling at. The little boy was now happily playing in the shallow water completely content with a rope tied tightly to the life jacket he had on and the other end of the rope was tied to a tree. We all laughed quietly at the picture it made, but I could understand her concern. Though the water was shallow it ran pretty fast, one slip and it would take quite an effort to get him back. Safety first.
A short while later his mom joined him in the river and they splashed and laughed together as the dad sat on shore and watched the two of them. The boys and I came out of the river and were sitting at the picnic table watching the water and drying in the sun when she came over to our table.
"Do you mind if we play in the water on your side?" she asked politely, "The water isn't running quite as fast on your side and it's a little deeper for swimming."
We all assured her that they were more than welcome to our side of the campsite. She smiled her beautiful smile and walked off with her little boy in her arms. As she walked away I looked at the multiple tattoos she had everywhere. On her arm she had a tattoo of her husband, whoever had done the picture was bang on with the image, there was no doubt that the man inked on her arm was the man sitting beside the river. As she turned she had more tattoos on her back but there was one below that little bone at the base of her neck and it said "Logan". We had heard her call her son by that name so it made sense. She continued carefully making her way down the rocks to the water and I noticed the rope was still hanging from Logan's life jacket. My eyes followed along the rope and I realized that she had wrapped the rope around her waist. She was obviously determined to keep her son safe.
They made it into the water and soon began to splash and giggle, bouncing up and down in the flowing river. Logan squealed with delight as his mom teased and played with him. When he would get too loud she would put her hand by his face and calmly say, "Logan, look at mommy. You can't be so loud." And immediately his giggles dropped a few decibels, but, not for long. How was he supposed to be quiet when life was so exciting?
They splashed and swam for awhile longer and when they came out she thanked us for sharing our spot and then apologized for dripping water all over. Dripping water all over what? The grass? We laughed and told her that she was more than welcome to make herself at home anytime.
They came over to our side a few more times and then suddenly it was Sunday and we were packed and ready to leave. I went to say goodbye to her and we talked for a bit. This was their first time camping alone as a family and she had been nervous, but as she talked I could tell she was quite proud of herself because everything had turned out much better than she had expected. They would probably come back she said. She laughed when she explained that Logan was so excited about his new friends, Nic and Mark, even though he didn't know their names. I complimented her on how conscientious she was with keeping her son safe in the water and we talked some more mostly about her life. She shared about how much she missed camping with her mom and dad and the rest of the family. They couldn't camp with them this year because they were in the flooded area of Lake Manitoba, which explained why they were on their own. She talked about her mom a lot and I got the distinct feeling she had quite a solid relationship with her. Interesting how much you can pack into a ten minute conversation.
We parted ways and before she walked away she said, "Maybe we'll see you again. It would be fun!" I would love to see her again, I don't know why, but she just made her way straight into my heart.
As we drove away she stood on the road with Logan safely tucked in her arms and they were both waving with huge grins. It was actually hard to leave her and Logan standing there watching our truck drive away.
As we traveled down the trans Canada headed for home I could easily picture the two of them bouncing up and down in the water together, their giggles and private conversations echoing on the small river bank, the rope snugly binding the two of them together. Her love for her son was so obvious and her care of him impeccable.
Isn't that a wonderful picture of Christ's love for us? He loves and cares for us more than we realize. There is so much that He wants to share with us, things He wants to show us. We can have intimate moments with Him when His Words are for us alone and the whole world can watch and yet not be a part of that moment because they do not know Him. He is expressive in His love for us and yet, He holds us securely to Himself.
So, no matter if the river of this life tosses us around, causing us to lose our footing, He's there. He carries us down the shore holding us tightly, He won't let us go tumbling down. His arms are the strength we need. The sharp rocks will bury themselves in our feet until we allow Him to lift us above the hurts and cares. His rope that binds us to Him is everlasting, completely secure and an extension of His love.
We are absolutely privileged to have Him as our Savior!

"For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure." Psalm 18:31-33