Look before you leap!

There was a question on the minds of four adult polar bears at Zoo Berlin over Easter weekend: “Where’s lunch?” The zookeepers at feeding time had to be surprised when a 32-year-old woman climbed over a fence, pushed through a hedge of thorns, and even scaled a concrete wall before swan diving into the murky moat where the polar bears swim. Keepers distracted three of the bears, but one bear focused on the woman as she swam right up to him. He slipped into the water for this unexpected food opportunity, biting her arms, legs, and back, before keepers rescued her with a life ring. At one point, as she was being hoisted up the wall, the woman actually slipped out of the ring and back into the water, where a bear dove under for another bite. Perhaps you saw the horrific video footage of this unbelievable story. The woman was severely injured, underwent surgery and, amazingly, has survived the attack. Those zookeepers saved her life.

You, like I, might be thinking, “What would make a person do that? Why would someone make such a foolish choice?” Few details were given, except that the woman was distraught about certain life circumstances over which she felt she had no control.

Although, I wouldn’t dive into a polar bear enclosure, I can identify with making a leap from the proverbial frying pan into the fire. Can’t you? It’s like the moth drawn to the flame. We all know it firsthand, to one extreme or another.

It’s one reason I love to hang out with you on Woman to Woman®. We meet others who have taken ineffective -- sometimes desperate -- measures to try to fix what’s wrong in their lives. Whether it’s a marriage dilemma, parenting issue, or health challenge -- these people have found a way out. Their “life ring” has been Jesus Christ, who restores their faith, always in personal and creative ways, so they realize they’re not in this alone.

Back to the bears. The zoo isn’t planning any updates to security after the attack. God doesn’t plan to change His security measures either; He doesn’t need to. He put in place the life ring that will not drop us back into the jaws of our enemy. Even when we can’t hold on, Jesus holds on to us. That’s what faith is all about. Even if you “look before you leap” into what you consider being the only way out, God is there to rescue you. We’ve just celebrated Easter, when God fully reveals His plan to save us from the mess in which we find ourselves, which He calls “sin.”

No matter how dark it gets in our situations, instead of jumping into more darkness, let's go for the Light of the world, which is how Jesus describes Himself. There's no darkness that can put that light out. To shed more light on our daily challenges, I invite you to listen to any one of the numerous Woman to Woman shows in our program archive. Any questions, please contact me.