When we see those who are struggling in life, we should be there for them as others were for us.   #theloriclineshow   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Have you ever received a ‘whale of a’ thank you? Well stop your scroll and let me tell you the coolest story that actually was a ‘whale of a’ thank you, because it was actually done by a whale!  Seriously! So let me start with explaining the phrase. Anytime you say a ‘whale of a’ anything, it means an exceedingly good example of a particular thing. So if you were doing a great job, it would be awesome to hear your boss say, ‘you’re doing a whale of a job’! Or if you went to a party you could say ‘I had a whale of a time’! Ok… you get it! So there was an actual whale that in its whale way, said thank you and showed gratitude.  It actually happened back in 2005. It was in December, six miles from the Farallon Islands, a chain of rocky islands about 30 miles west of San Francisco, California. A 50-foot-long female humpback whale was spotted near the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge and it was entangled in crab fishing gear and nets.  This whale, estimated to weigh 50 tons, was on its usual migratory route between the Northern California coast and Baja California when it became entangled in the nylon ropes that link crab pots. A crab fisherman spotted it first and made the call for help. A team of divers and rescuers located the trapped whale and evaluated the situation.  These whales are huge, but the team seeing how badly this one was trapped, realized the only way to try and save it would be to have divers get in the water, swim up to it and cut the ropes. There were about 20 ropes, which each are 240 feet long with weights every 60 feet, so imagine the stress on this animal with these weights pulling it down, ropes digging into its skin, wrapped around its tail and even one in its mouth. It was a struggle for this humpback to stay above water simply to be able to breathe.  As the whale floated passively in the water, four divers took about an hour cutting away the ropes. The diver that cut away the rope from the mouth of the whale shared it was an epic moment in his life as he and the whale made eye contact while he freed her from the ropes.  Once the whale was free, it swam in circles and then this 50 ton humpback whale swam up to each diver, one by one, and nuzzled them gently, as if to say thank you, before swimming away.  I love this story for a few reasons.  First it reminds me how easy it is to get trapped in sin and the cares of this world and when we do sometimes the tangled mess we find ourselves in, we can’t get out of on our own. We need to welcome loving hearts who are willing to jump in the deep water with us.  Second I’m challenged to remember there are those around me close to drowning. Father, help ME see and hear the cries of help that may be around me and give me the courage to jump into the deep to lend a helping hand.  And third, when I am set free from the ropes that hold my heart in fear, worry or the heavy weight of lies that try to hold me down and keep me from breathing in deep and being all God wants me to be… I need to stop and give thanks to God for setting me free from those chains on a daily basis.   I Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.   The victory and freedom we can walk in because of Jesus, is worth a whale of a thank you to God each and every day! That’s the truth.   Be encouraged. You’re not alone. God loves you so much. No matter where you may find yourself, in the water trapped, diving in to help or maybe you need to say thank you… through it all God gives us the victory.    I’m Lori Cline.