On a trip to Montana, when the boys were 1, 6 and 11, our hotel was nearly overrun by a large group of travelers. They propped open outside doors, made a constant raucous in the halls and grilled their meals in the parking lot. The boys and I were at the pool one day when one of the women arrived with 8 children from 1 to 13 years old. She handed off the youngest to the oldest and jumped in, without a care in the world. There was no lifeguard and the unruly group made it unsafe for my younger two, so we lounged on chairs while my oldest continued to swim.
Suddenly I noticed my son running to the other side of the pool where he knelt down, reached into the water and dragged out a small boy. The listless child collapsed, vomiting water onto the concrete. Then my son stood bewildered as the young woman marched up angrily and scolded the boy, still laying there trying to breathe. She lifted him like a rag doll and dragged him by the wrist to the hot tub, where he sat alone in shock.
Later in our room the mood was solemn. The cloud of confusion and chaos whirling around the hotel had now darkened our door. We hugged our son and praised him for watching over and rescuing the boy, but we were all heavy with grief. That child has entered my mind over the years. I pray that he knows God’s love for him. I pray that I can keep a warm heart in all situations so others may see God and know that love too.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philipipians 2:3-4
Meeting God at the Park 