Many years ago a 14 year old boy stood on the
bank
of the San Antonio River. He watched the water as it gathered speed
racing
toward the whirlpools. Somehow the treacherous currents
fascinated
him with their lurking danger.
He began to study the way pieces
of driftwood were drawn toward the whirlpool. They would glide
faster
and faster, until suddenly they would disappear into the whirling
water;
and then a few seconds later the pieces of wood would bob to the
surface
a few feet beyond the whirlpool and float freely downstream.
Hugh Roy Cullen, later to be a Texas
oil man knew that wood floated more naturally than the human
body;
yet a person could remain afloat in the water if he lay
semi-rigid
and motionless. It seemed impossible that no one could swim thru these
whirlpools...if a bit of driftwood came through all right.
He watched the way the wood went under; and
then he tried an experiment. He tossed a log, about his own
weight,
into the water and watched it disappear as it reached the whirling
eddies
over the bottom of the river. He counted the seconds before the
log
came up. He had no watch but he worked out a counting rhythm.
Then he began to hold his breath while he
counted, and continued to hold his breath twice as long as the logs
remained
under.
He decided it must be the fact of fighting
the water that prevented the swimmers from being thrust to the surface
again, the way the logs came out.
Finally, he was satisfied that he had
worked out the plan perfectly in his mind. When there were no
other
boys around to stop him, he dove into the river and swam toward the
whirlpool.
As the current dragged him swiftly toward the churning trip,
young Roy closed his eyes
and held his breath. He tried to relax his arms and legs.
Suddenly
it was as if a smooth hand caught his legs and jerked him
down
toward the bottom of the river bed. He began counting
mechanically
and tried to think only of that. The roaring water closed on him
like a vice, dragging him down, and his ears seemed about the
burst....Then
suddenly he was floating on the surface again, in quiet water.
The buoyancy of the water held him
up.
One could think of casting ourselves into the care of the
Lord
who brings us through trials and keeps us afloat in the events of
life.
"Cast your cares upon Him, for he cares for you."