Kim and Nathan Maker fell in love with scuba diving when they were on their honeymoon. The beauty of the marine wildlife inspired them, and they continued to dive for the next nine years. They estimated that they had done roughly 500 dives, so they were reasonably experienced divers.
The Oklahoma couple’s story began when they were part of a group scuba diving off oil rigs about 15 miles from the Matagorda coast in Texas. This time they were diving in high seas and in strong currents. A group before them had descended the downline and they were following them. One of the divers, Lisa Shearin, lost a weight pocket, so her dive was over. As she turned around to go up the line, she had to let go of the line so the next group could descend. But the current was too strong for her, and she was not able to get back to the line. “I was like a salmon swimming upstream,” she said. “I swam with everything that I had to get back to that dive line. I was not able to.”
Fortunately, Nathan saw that she was being swept away by the current and went out to help her. He was able to get her back to the line, but not himself. Kim saw her husband struggling in the current and reached out to him. Their hands almost touched ... they were about a foot apart ... when someone accidentally knocked Kim off the line. Then, the current swept them both away. That was the last anyone would see of them for the next 36 hours!
LOST AT SEA
Though those on the boat spent the next couple of hours looking for them, they eventually had to stop because of storms in the area. They then alerted the Coast Guard to begin searching for them. From Wednesday afternoon until Friday morning, they would search over 1,600 square miles looking for them.
In the meantime, Kim and Nathan had tethered themselves together while they fought to survive in the Gulf of Mexico. They could see oil rig lights on the horizon, so they spent the next nine hours swimming towards them but finally had to give up. Kim said that they had to keep swimming on and off just to keep their body temperatures up, or they would have frozen to death. On the second day they were beginning to think that they wouldn’t make it when they heard what they thought was the last search plane go by. By this time, Nathan was coughing up salt water and Kim had some stomach issues. They knew that their bodies were shutting down.
Nathan’s uncle, Charles Owen, said that the family had all but given up hope, as well. After searching for roughly 36 hours, authorities told them that they were about ready to call off the search after thoroughly covering the grid. But early Friday morning, a plane that was on its last pass searching outside of the Coast Guard’s grid turned its nose towards them and Kim signaled S.O.S. with her flashlight. A few minutes later a Coast Guard boat came speeding towards them and their long ordeal had come to an end.
Though Kim and Nathan needed recovery time in the hospital, the family considered it a miracle that they had survived. Owen commented, “This miracle was performed by the Coast Guard at God’s direction.” Kim had an infection, and Nathan was nearly in a diabetic coma when he was rescued. Both were severely dehydrated and had multiple jellyfish stings.
SAVIOR
“Thank God for the Coast Guard,” Kim said. “Saviors of the sea,” Nathan added. Nathan also said, “I really believe we saw the hand of God that day. And it was the hand of the Coast Guard.” Both Kim and Nathan wanted to be sure that the Coast Guard got the thanks that they deserved. But it is always God that is worthy of the highest honor and praise. Psalm 115:11Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. (Psalm 115:1) states, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”
What the Makers had to go through for 36 hours was extremely difficult. Maybe you are in an extremely difficult situation in your life, and you feel all alone without any hope for the future. Just know that a God of love has His eye on you and wants to have a relationship with you. He loved us so much that in mercy He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins because He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Just as the Makers could not save themselves, we cannot save ourselves. The truth is “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
God’s promise is true and unshakable. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). Also, “As many as received Him [Jesus], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:1212But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)). This is the mercy and truth of God that we can thank Him for! Those that know Him now through faith will thank Him for all eternity for His loving-kindness to us. Will you be one of them?