The five children tumbled excitedly into the car. We were off to see the beaver dam. The sky was sparkling blue and the fall colors were at their best as we drove through the hilly, wooded New Brunswick countryside to the river where the beavers had their home.
The dirt road came to an end about an eighth of a mile from the water’s edge, and a footpath led us down to the low dock that jutted several feet out into the stream. We cautioned the children to be very quiet as they approached the dock and to walk as softly as possible. They tiptoed forward expectantly and were rewarded by seeing five sets of little buck teeth underneath five pairs of bright, dark eyes looking up from the water.
The dock was old, flimsy and slippery with wet, green moss. It was made of two long planks nailed together by cross boards underneath and secured to the land, but it had no support beneath the end that was over the water. As soon as we stepped on it, the far end began to sink, and with every step farther, it went a little lower into the water.
Because the dock was old and rickety, the rest of the family seemed to have no difficulty in seeing that it was wise to stay on the shore to watch the beavers. But five-year-old Emily was very anxious to get as close to them as possible.
“Please, Mummy, can’t we go out there?” she begged again.
Finally, I gave in and walked with her out on the dock, getting closer to the beavers that were only a few yards away. When we got as far as we could go without getting our shoes soaked, Emily carefully knelt down and started talking softly to the babies.
Now the mommy and daddy beaver climbed out of the water onto the top of their mud and stick house. They began running back and forth on their house and on their dam, and then they slid down into the water to swim alongside their babies, all the time watching us with wary eyes.
While the rest of us were watching the adult beavers, one of the babies had ventured close enough so that Emily felt she could reach out with her hand and pet him.
Immediately the father beaver gave a resounding slap on the water with his thick, flat tail!
Emily was so startled she jumped up and immediately slipped on the dock and right into the water! She was gasping from the shock of the cold water and looking up at me with pleading eyes that said, “Save me, Mummy!”
Do you think I decided to leave her there? No, not for one instant! I love her too much! And the Lord Jesus says, “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:2222Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22)). If we feel our need, as little Emily did then, and look to Him, why, He will never leave us floundering in our sins until we sink down into the pit of hell. He loves us too much! He will lift us up at once, and we will feel the comfort of those everlasting arms that are underneath us to hold us from the moment we are saved until we’re safely home in heaven with our blessed Saviour.
Will you look to the Lord Jesus and be saved?
ML-10/16/2005