Minnesota woman found alive after 3 days trapped in mud: 'It had to be God'
A Minnesota woman who went missing in the woods near Park Rapids was found alive after three days trapped in mud that gripped her like quicksand, unable to free herself. A group of friends out on an ATV ride happened to choose a new trail that day and discovered her. The rescuers told reporters there was no ordinary explanation for the timing of their detour: as one put it, 'It had to be God.'
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."
When David wrote this psalm, he reached for the most helpless image he knew: a person sinking in mud, unable to climb out by their own strength. That is exactly the picture in today's news, someone trapped in ground that pulled harder the more she struggled, waiting for a rescue that could only come from outside herself. What is striking is that the rescuers did not credit luck. They changed their route for no clear reason and found her, and their own words were, 'It had to be God.' Scripture uses the mud-and-mire image because it is honest about the places we cannot save ourselves from, and honest about who does the lifting. The same God who turned to David still hears the cry of the stuck and the sinking, and still sends help down the trail at exactly the right time.
Father, when we are stuck in places we cannot escape on our own, hear our cry as You heard David's. Lift us out of the mire, set our feet on the rock, and give us a firm place to stand. Thank You for being a God who still sends help at the right time. Amen.