I couldn’t have been more anxious to write this blog post than I am right now. Let me give you a little bit of a back story of why this post came about….
I just now got back home from the swimming pool with my best friend and when I tell you I’m STILL trying to calm my heart rate!!!
My friend and I went to the pool per we both were in need of some outdoor attention and the weather was perfect for the pool. We stayed for a while and finally decided we would leave per I was sitting on the side of the pool while my friend swam and I kept getting attacked by fire ants. Typically we just leave after we get out but we sat in the chairs to dry off and chat a bit more before we left. While we were chatting, 3 teenage boys, 1 teenage girl, and 1 (8yr-10yr old) boy arrived at the pool. The young boy got in on the shallow end as his crew sat in chairs surrounding the pool. I noticed that the young boy was able to go under water and paddle himself above water. Of course my best friend and I being observers and professional people watchers watched as they urged the 8 year old to jump in the deep end because according to them, “that’s the only way you’ll learn to really swim.” The boy was amped to jump in the deep end as the older boys reassured him that the teenage girl would jump in and save him if he was on the verge of drowning. At this point my friend and my chat stopped. Without hesitation the young boy jumped in the deep end. He paddled his way to the top and his crew cheered him on to swim to the shallow end. The boy paddled his little heart out with the biggest smile on his face…. Except he was paddling in one spot. His crew laughed and shouted, “you’re not moving!!” He failed to kick his legs and the excitement he once had quickly turned to panic as he begin to tire out. I could see the panic in his eyes as he realized he jumped too far from the edge of the pool to reach for it and save himself. The young boy began to fail to keep himself up and went under helplessly. He was able to belt out, “HELP” before he went back under again. Mind you, his crew was STILL merely rooting him on. I yelled in anguish, “get him!!!” The teenage girl finally jumped in to his rescue. She was unsuccessful in doing so because instead of swimming to him she tried to tip and reach for him (mind you she was petite in the deep end). Unfortunately none of us are able to quickly navigate water on foot unless we are Jesus. I immediately jumped in and threw the young boy to the side of the pool to safety. The teenage boys pulled the young boy out and of course the boy was mortified, trembling, and crying in fear of what almost happened. The crew tried to calm him down as they told him he had to learn how to swim and they all learned the same way. The little boy continued to repeat, “I’m NEVER doing that again!” As they laughed the event off, my friend and I (nerves shot) left. As we left, we drove by the pool and the boy was wrapped in his towel in seemingly good spirits and the teenage girl next to him carelessly taking selfies.
As I drove away, I was reminded that had my friend and I not stayed a moment longer, these careless kids could have had a different situation on their hands. Life as they once knew it may have not have been so peachy. It also dawned on me that had my friend and I just left two seconds before we did, we wouldn’t have been in position to save a life. Earlier that day, when I asked my friend if she wanted to go to the pool she turned me down because she didn’t want to ruin her new hairstyle lol. We actually planned to go hiking after we left church but due to a car situation, my friend was not able to come to me. I realize that all roads led to us not even being at the pool at all today. I’m not saying that the young boy would have drowned if we weren’t there, but his crew surely had no sense of urgency to help even with his cry for help. I realized how important it is to be present in the moment and to move when God says move. It doesn’t matter what peers may say or think about you in the process. Each and every one of our lives are on the line and we can’t just sit on the sidelines while someone is crying out for help. If we do so we will cost them their lives and possibly even our own. We will have to give an account for everything we do on this earth and it would be a shame if we let our whole lives go by and all we did was sit on the sidelines and allowed person after person to self destruct. I pray you are as moved as I was and am in this moment. Wake up my friend, we’ve got lives to save.