Message In A Bottle

A few days ago, my mom responded to a text I’d sent her by saying, “Hello!! Good morning!! I love you!!” Mom didn’t know it at the time, but I was having a rough morning. Her text was so loving and joyful that it changed the course of my whole day. Just that one message arriving at a time when I really needed it.

It reminded me of the fascination I’ve always had with the concept of a message in a bottle. When I was a little girl, I went through a phase where I read countless books about people who were marooned on a desert island but were saved because they sent out a message in a bottle. Or because someone else sent out a message in a bottle, and the marooned person read it; feeling less alone, they were able to hold on until they were rescued. The word “marooned” intrigued me—I’d only known “maroon” as a color in the Crayola box that I didn’t particularly like. So I looked it up in the dictionary and saw that it meant isolated, lonely, and abandoned.

I wanted to either send out or receive my own message in a bottle. But the only body of water near me at the time was a creek, so I knew I wouldn’t receive one. I did send one, though. I wrote a message, rolled it up, and put it inside a bottle. Then I threw it as hard as I could into the creek. It got stuck on a log, but I freed it, and it floated away. I never saw it again. In my imagination, another kid found it and put it in the creek near them. Then the next kid who found it put it in a river. And so on and so on until it got to the ocean, where it wended its way straight towards a desert island to the unfortunate marooned person who so desperately needed it.

I still don’t live near an ocean. But I’m still intrigued by the message in a bottle idea. Only now, I see it differently. I see the messages I get at just the right moment—like that text from my mom—as messages in a bottle, sent by God to rescue me when I need it the most. When I’m feeling marooned, as if I’m all alone and everyone has abandoned me, I’ll get a text from my brother or one of my sisters. When I feel as though life has become tedious, a friend will tell me how grateful she is for her job, reminding me that gratitude always changes the way I see life. If I’m dealing with a situation that’s difficult, I’ll get a phone call or email telling me that someone is praying for me. I even get messages through books and songs—the right words at the right moment bless me, and I’m reminded how tremendously loving God is, to have sent me that message.

I don’t believe that any of those messages are random. I believe that God knows exactly what I need to hear and when I need to hear it. He created me, knows me intimately, and loves me far beyond what I can comprehend. So of course He would know exactly how to bless me, when to do it, and how. All I have to do is pay attention so that I can recognize the messages for what they are. And I try not to forget that messages go both ways. If someone pops into my head, I assume God put them there. So I send them a message and pray that it blesses them in some way.

I remember so well the message I sent all those years ago. I can almost see it, printed carefully in my childish handwriting: “If you’re reading this, you’re probably marooned. I am very sorry. I’m sure you will be rescued soon. While you’re waiting, remember that God is with you so you’re not ever alone.”

That’s still the message I’d send. It’s the message I’m sending you now. Yes, you. The one reading this. I can feel you out there, so close that it seems as if you’re sitting across the room, scrolling through Facebook on your phone or computer and coming across these words I’m writing to you. It’s not random that you’re reading this. I believe with all my heart that God brought you here. So if you’re feeling marooned, like you’re on a desert island at night with only the moon for light, here’s your message, washing right up at your feet: you’re not alone. Rescue is on its way.

In your season of waiting for that rescue, look for all the messages God is sending you. Send out some of your own. And watch how the blessings roll in and out like the tide. This one rolled in to me this morning, sent by God to pass on to you: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zeph. 3:17)