Safety Net

Today’s Post By: Rae Lynn DeAngelisDuring our first year of marriage, my husband and I visited the Red River Gorge with some close friends.  While my girlfriend and I were perfectly content to view the rich beauty of the scenery visually, our husbands had to experience the landscape in a more physical way–repelling off the side of a cliff.  Barely twenty, we didn’t fully comprehend all the risks involved with such a sport.When you’re young you don’t always think–you just have fun.At the end of the day, Gerry decided to repel down the cliff one last time.  Once he was out of sight and the rope loosened, it appeared that my husband had made it safely to the ground.  After several minutes of waiting, his buddy finally made an assumption that he was at the bottom and untied the rope from its secure hold.Almost immediately the rope began to unravel with great speed, dropping over the side of the cliff.  I screamed, realizing my husband was free falling.  My friend who was standing next to the coil of rope got jerked to the ground when the line entangled around her leg! We grabbed hold so she wouldn’t fall over the edge, but at that very moment the rope stopped unraveling.Realization set in! My newlywed husband was at the other end of that rope. Questions flew through my mind. How far did he fall?  Was he okay?After several moments, my husband yelled up to us that he was okay. Shaken and bruised–but alive.For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”  (Psalm 27:5)Gerry had been resting on the side of the cliff