by Dona Hake
I recently saw an interview and reading about a precious woman named Clara Gantt. Oh my it was so powerful! She had experienced being in the flood that recently hit in South Carolina. She and her Grandson were stranded for five hours, and it looked so hopeless to them, yet there was hope! During her interview she read aloud, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”
The South Carolina woman was heading to church near Blythewood in the pouring rain around 6am Sunday when a hidden sheet of floodwater swept her car into the current. As she waited for help, all sorts of thoughts went through her head. “I said, ‘Dear Lord, are you taking me home right now?’” Her grandson, Travis Catchings, finally got to the scene where his grandmother’s car had floated into a church yard.
That’s when Clara said divine intervention kicked in. With a harness and rope, her Grandson managed to push the car door open despite the rushing water. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. Right in front of Clara’s car was a giant red cross, and that’s what the two clung to for the frightening five hours until rescuers came. Travis called his wife from their perch, thinking it was the last time he’d speak to her. “It was the hardest phone call I’ve ever made, and I just told her that I loved her.” Clara, who suffered a broken ankle and hypothermia, doesn’t think the cross was an accident. “Jesus is my savior,” she said. “This story is not about me, it’s about what He did to save me. And He set my feet on higher ground.”
The thing that was so precious was Clara said, ” I cling to the person of the cross!” As they both held onto the cross for five hours they prayed for safety and strength. Travis also mentioned that he prayed that God would help him calm down and get his wits. This precious woman said this is all about God, and how he saved her. She shared how we have to live by faith and not by sight.
I thought this was such a powerful and moving story. This woman and her Grandson went through such a horrible experience yet their eyes were on Him, and they were eager to give thanks and glorify His Name! Today let us reflect on being thankful for what Jesus did for us on the cross. Think about it…we were without hope, our life was being swept away with sin, and our life came to a halt at the foot of the cross. It was there that we made a decision for Him! It was at the cross of Jesus that the total work was completed that we might be forgiven, have eternal life, and be blessed as we live and serve Him as we live upon this earth.
Do you remember the day you accepted Jesus into your heart? For me, I can remember every detail about it, and I will never forget what I felt happen on the inside of me. It was the most miraculous feeling, and it was so tangible as well. I just knew that what seemed to be a ton of weight was shed from my heart. Today I encourage you to remember and be thankful for that precious day He came into your life. In our time of trouble, and in those times when all is well, let us remember to cling to the Person of the cross!