By Su He
I followed my mother in believing in the Lord from when I was little. So I was a child who grew up under the Lord’s protection. Every time I read the bit in the Bible that says, “Because you have made Jehovah, which is my refuge, even the most High, your habitation; There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalms 91:9-12), I recall the scene of me being rescued by the Lord after I fell into a well in my childhood.
When I was nine years old, one autumn evening, just after it had rained, I went to the garden on my own to pick vegetables. The garden was quite far from my house, and because of my fear of the dark I wanted to be back before night fell. So I walked rapidly along the narrow and muddy path in my galoshes …
As I was walking, I suddenly trod something, and felt it was soft and moving. On seeing it was a snake, I gave a scream and broke into a run. But the path was so slippery that I was unable to run at all, so I could only walk at a fast pace toward the garden. However, when I reached the entrance to it, my foot slipped and, to my horror, I fell into a well!
The water in the well was over two meters deep. As soon as I fell into the well, I sank to the bottom of it and the water poured into my mouth. I could not swim, so I flailed around in the water. I felt very helpless, and thought: “There is no one around. Maybe I’ll drown in this well.”
At that point, I remembered the powerful Lord Jesus. Only He could save me. Thus, I began to call on Him. But then I suddenly realized that I could not open my mouth otherwise the water would choke me. So I hurriedly pressed my lips together tightly and held my breath. Meanwhile, I struggled to get a grip on the stones in the wall of the well and pull myself out of the water. But covered with moss, the stones were so slippery that I could not grip them. On top of that, the water was moving in waves, making my body sway, which made it even more impossible for me to grip the stones. Later, I gripped a stone with great difficulty and then tried to climb up, but I slipped and sank to the bottom of the well again. At that moment, I became even more scared and even less able to hold my breath, and as a result the water poured into my mouth. Breathing became difficult and I thought I would be suffocated.
However, I did not give up on the idea of survival. So, I called on the Lord even more eagerly, asking Him to give me more strength. After praying, I gained confidence again. Then I held my breath, got a grip on the stones in the wall again and climbed up. However, because there was too much moss on the stones and I was afraid that I would sink to the bottom of the well again if I lost my grip on the stones, I also desperately tried to get a foothold on the stones beside me. All of a sudden, I found a stone which could be stepped on. Then I pushed myself up along the wall of the well.
It seemed to take ages, but I finally rose out of the water. At that point, it was already dark. Because of holding my breath for a long time, I panted and gasped. My belly was full of water and my body was limp. Looking at the opening of the well high above me and the cold water beneath me, I was really afraid that in the process of climbing I would lose strength or grasp at a mossy stone and slip into the water again. And if that happened again and again, I would use up all my strength and drown. At that moment, I knew that only the Lord Jesus could save me, so I called on Him again to ask Him to give me more faith and strength so that I could climb to the top of the well.
Then, I took a rest for a while. After recovering some strength, I began to climb. But it was getting late so it was dark in the well and I really could not see where the stones were. So I used my feet to test which stones I could step on, and climbed slowly. I set my feet very carefully and called on the Lord…
Finally, under the Lord’s care and protection, I reached the top of the well, and then, with great force, hoisted myself up onto the ground. Soaked to the skin, I sat by the well and recovered my strength slowly. I looked all round: It was as dark as pitch and there was no one around. An autumn wind was blowing so I felt cold. But I was not at all afraid inside; instead, I felt very peaceful, because I knew clearly in my heart that the Lord Jesus was by my side. It was His care and protection that helped me to escape. I thanked the Lord for saving me. It was completely because of the Lord boosting my faith and perseverance that I could safely climb out from the bottom of the well.
As I recall this experience, I know that after I fell into the well I experienced that at the juncture of life and death only the Lord is my rock. Just as it says in the Bible: “Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower” (Psalms 18:2). Thank the Savior Lord Jesus for gracing me with His salvation! Thanks to the Lord’s care and protection, I pulled through safely.
