One of my funny childhood memories took place on our boat out on the lake. We had pulled into a cove with a beach that couldn't be accessed very well. So, my dad asked my brother to throw out the anchor. He did just that. However, he neglected to notice that the rope wasn't tied to it. So, we watched as the anchor sank deeper and deeper into the water until we couldn't see it anymore. There was a steep drop off near the beach and the water became deep rather quickly. Despite many dives down, the anchor was never found.
I thought about this story just the other day and, for the first time, I equated it with life here on earth. The Savior is our anchor. He is the anchor for all humankind. But there are many people who do not believe in Christ or do not follow him. They fail to attach themselves to the anchor so they don't have that sure and steady connection. Their lives can easily be affected by any wind of doctrine, especially the ever-growing popularity of the world which encourages people to do whatever feels good. The anchor falls deeper and deeper with nothing attached to it.
Even those of us who believe in Christ and choose to follow him, who hold onto the anchor, can be tossed around a bit through adversity and temptations. Sometimes that will weaken our connection to the anchor and our lives can get off course. We need to constantly check to make sure our connection is secure. If it isn't, we need to do whatever we can to strengthen it.
Sometimes I get so busy I forget to check. And when I forget to check, that in and of itself seems to weaken my connection to the Savior.
An anchor does us no good if we aren't securely connected to it.
I just like that analogy and thought I'd share it.
