It was mid-September over twenty-five years ago when we took our son to visit his great-grandmother for a weekend on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She had a beautiful old telescoped house near the Chesapeake Bay and it was likely the last time that we could go swimming in the ocean for the year. It was a beautiful early Saturday afternoon when we drove to Chincoteague to see the wild ponies on nearby Assateague Island and afterward my son and I decided to go swimming in the ocean. The air was warm, the sea was cool yet still warm enough for swimming and we headed out for a relaxing swim. As we swam together parallel to the the shore no more than fifteen yards from the beach, we suddenly realized that we were in the entry to a rip current. It began tugging at us and pulling us seaward.
I looked over at my son and realized he was fearful since he had never been in a rip current before. I told him to relax and just let the tide take him out and it would soon release him but he began to fight it. I tried to swim toward him but could not get any closer when suddenly I saw someone dive off the sandbar and head his way. The man was large, muscular and an excellent swimmer so as I began to feel myself being released from the tow I swam parallel to the sandbar. The man reached him and as he relaxed, the current released its grip and the man stayed with him until he was able to walk up on the sandbar, visibly shaken but physically unharmed. I turned away momentarily to signal ashore that all was okay and when I turned back toward my boy, the man was gone. Just like he arrived out of nowhere, he was gone.
I hugged my son, realizing what a close call it had been, and he said, "Dad, that man came out of nowhere. He was speaking with a strong accent; I think it was German. I thought I was going to drown and was almost out of steam but he came beside me and told me to relax and just float and all else would be okay. I suddenly felt at peace and just like he said, I was free of the pull. He told me to just do what he did and we slowly swam over to the sandbar. As I walked out of the water toward you, I looked toward him and no one was there. I don't know where he came from or where he went, but he was gone and I wanted to thank him."
"Son," I said, "you just dodged a bullet and after this you'll naturally know what to do, but it was frightening. I was afraid you were gone and there was nothing I could do about it."
His next words really captured what I wanted to say, but didn't, for fear someone might think I was crazy as he said, "Dad, do you think he was a man or an angel? I really just don't know."
Well, we really never knew what the real story was but we both knew that at that particular moment in time, whatever was clearly present in the form of a man was responsible for my boy still being with us and not a victim of the sea. Could it have been an angel sent to perform a special miracle? Well, while I can't answer that question, all I know is it was very real to both of us and man or angel, he saved my son and we are both very thankful for it. I also know that God indeed works in mysterious ways and I'm not about to say that it wasn't an angel. God does, after all, have the power to do anything, anything at all, including save a young boy from a perilous situation in the sea. May He always be praised.
I looked over at my son and realized he was fearful since he had never been in a rip current before. I told him to relax and just let the tide take him out and it would soon release him but he began to fight it. I tried to swim toward him but could not get any closer when suddenly I saw someone dive off the sandbar and head his way. The man was large, muscular and an excellent swimmer so as I began to feel myself being released from the tow I swam parallel to the sandbar. The man reached him and as he relaxed, the current released its grip and the man stayed with him until he was able to walk up on the sandbar, visibly shaken but physically unharmed. I turned away momentarily to signal ashore that all was okay and when I turned back toward my boy, the man was gone. Just like he arrived out of nowhere, he was gone.
I hugged my son, realizing what a close call it had been, and he said, "Dad, that man came out of nowhere. He was speaking with a strong accent; I think it was German. I thought I was going to drown and was almost out of steam but he came beside me and told me to relax and just float and all else would be okay. I suddenly felt at peace and just like he said, I was free of the pull. He told me to just do what he did and we slowly swam over to the sandbar. As I walked out of the water toward you, I looked toward him and no one was there. I don't know where he came from or where he went, but he was gone and I wanted to thank him."
"Son," I said, "you just dodged a bullet and after this you'll naturally know what to do, but it was frightening. I was afraid you were gone and there was nothing I could do about it."
His next words really captured what I wanted to say, but didn't, for fear someone might think I was crazy as he said, "Dad, do you think he was a man or an angel? I really just don't know."
Well, we really never knew what the real story was but we both knew that at that particular moment in time, whatever was clearly present in the form of a man was responsible for my boy still being with us and not a victim of the sea. Could it have been an angel sent to perform a special miracle? Well, while I can't answer that question, all I know is it was very real to both of us and man or angel, he saved my son and we are both very thankful for it. I also know that God indeed works in mysterious ways and I'm not about to say that it wasn't an angel. God does, after all, have the power to do anything, anything at all, including save a young boy from a perilous situation in the sea. May He always be praised.
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