The Whale

Someone sent this to me in an email forward, which somehow bypassed my Trash folder where all of the other forwards are lovingly sent on their merry way. For you animal lovers, like myself, this is a beautiful tale of friendship and gratitude that is endearing.
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If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.

She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help.

Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around--she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
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This brings tears to my eyes for two reasons:
1. I am a sucker for animal stories like this. You don’t ever want to be beside me in a movie where an animal dies or gets hurt.
2. I am blessed to have friends that are voices of Hope and reflections of Joy, and whose hands and feet are used by our gracious God in the tedious work of untangling me from life’s hurts & my own self-absorption. Because of you, I’m free to swim.