My heart dropped as I witnessed my son fall into the water.

I had taken my kids to one of our favorite summer destinations–the big church pond where ducks, fish, and turtles inhabit the water.

We had been there many times before and love the memories we’ve made chasing the ducks and watching the turtles swim, but this day proved to be one of the scariest days I’d experience.

My son was standing alongside the edge of the water on the concrete platform tossing crackers to the fish. Standing next to him was his sister who squealed in glee as a duck snacked on the crumbs within an arm’s length from her legs. I had migrated just a couple feet from them both to toss crackers to the ducks that had made their way in our direction.

In an instant, my son took a single step into the shallow waters in front of him, and I watched as his foot caught the slippery slope that pulled him into the water. My heart sank as I immediately reached in to grab him. The more he frantically tried to stabilize, the further he drifted into the mucky waters. By that time, the water had reached the top of his shoulders.

As I grabbed a hold of his arm, my flip-flop also caught the slippery slope that sent me flying into the water with my son. Thankfully, my knee caught a groove in the underwater pavement and stopped our bodies from getting caught in the water fountain’s current. With my son still holding onto my arm and my knee still holding both of us in place, I tried to pull us out of the water as my sandals floated off in the distance. Everything around us was covered in grime making it impossible to stabilize.  I realized I needed to get him out of the water first if I were going to be able to pull myself out.

Unfortunately, every time I tried to grab hold of the rocks outlining the pond, the rocks would slip from my hands and cause my son to panic even more. Not only was the pond water so dark we were unable to see anything beneath, but the ground was so slick that my feet were unable to get into a strong position without slipping further into the water.

I finally shifted all of our weight on that one knee that was keeping us anchored and gently began to encourage my son to climb over me onto the rocks. After he mustered enough courage, my son climbed over me and pulled himself onto the rocks and crawled to the grass. I was then able to stretch my legs and awkwardly pull myself out of the water to tend to my son.

(Praise God, my daughter was too entertained by the whole situation and had no desire to join us in the water.)

Other than being wet, cold, and flustered, my son emerged from the waters injury free. Me, on the other hand, had plenty of bloody wounds on my knees, feet, and fingers to show for our frightening experience.

I have since been reflecting on the powerful impact this situation had on my life and the insight it provided into my Christian faith.

How many times do we, as Christians, linger around the shallow waters of society’s pleasures? One wrong step into a sinful indulgence can send us down a slippery slope into the mucky waters of destruction.

If you’re like me, you know what it’s like to be tempted to dip your toes into enemy territory. I’d go even further to say we know what it’s like to think we are safe exploring the shallow waters of temptations when in reality we find ourselves shoulder-deep in filthy waters we never intended to be in.

Living within the safe protection of Christ’s love means living with the freedom to experience life as God intended. The moment we decide to step out of the protection and pursue temptations outside of the will of God, we invite destruction and consequences into our lives that will keep us slaves to a lifestyle apart from Him.

My children and I had visited that pond numerous times without ever experiencing an accident. But one step across the protective boundaries was all that was needed for my son to find himself shoulders-deep in filthy pond water. As for us, our enemy is quiet, patient, and always lurking under the illusion of innocent exploration. He is eagerly anticipating our one small step in the wrong direction, because he knows the moment we give in to temptation and step outside of God’s will, he will be able to pull us quickly down the slippery slope into places we never intended to go.

When we find ourselves in positions that keep us slipping further into sin and temptation, we have to be willing to call for help. I may have some raw cuts on my knees from helping my son, but our Savior’s Hands and Feet have been pierced saving our souls. Calling out to the only One who can rescue us is our only hope of redemption and eternal freedom. 

And trust me, life inside the protection of Christ is much better than living in mucky waters.