I Saved A Life Today…

“Honey Come quick!”

Because of the incredible urgency I could sense in her voice, I ran to the living room and looked out the sliding glass doors into the back yard.

I say “What?”

She says.

“Look at Camden up in that tree.”

I couldn’t believe it.

I’d never seen anyone this high in a tree before.

Notice the truck on the ground and the ladder in the back of the truck.

It still doesn’t come anywhere near reaching him.

Apparently he’d climbed up to look at a bird’s nest.

As you read this lines now, you could be thinking “this is a cute story”.

But I was scared for my son.

He was so high that a fall would have been disastrous.

And, he couldn’t seem to find his way back down.

My first thought was to pull the truck underneath the tree and put the ladder in the back to see if I could reach him.

Not even close.

My next idea was to slowly guide him back down by taking him through the steps, but after a few attempts, I could see that was leading to danger.

That’s when I decided, to climb up and get him myself.

There was a split second when I realized I’d be putting myself in serious danger by climbing up there.

A slight hesitation, a small moment of fear as I pondered the potential consequences of putting myself in that tree.

But in a moment, my fatherly faith took over and my decision to save my son wiped away all doubts, fears and hesitations.

I started up the tree.

With some careful climbing, I reached him.

One limb at a time, I’d grab him and lower him down to the next limb.

He’d sit there while I’d lower myself down a bit.

Then I’d grab him and move him down a bit more…

Finally, we arrived safely at the bottom.

I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of safety, relief and comfort that swept over my body when I planted my feet on solid ground.

I can’t help but remember that split second when the fear came into my heart and mind and tried to keep me from climbing up and rescuing my son.

Sometimes, we know we need to make important decisions despite hesitations that try to keep us from doing the things we know we should.

It’s in moments like these that knowing WHY we’re doing what we’re doing can instantly dissolve any fear we might have…

…and replace it with the steady faith that’s always required to make powerful decisions and do the things that need to be done.

I don’t know if you can remember a time in your life, when you knew you needed to make a decision to step into something better…

… but you had some hesitation.

That’s how I felt today.

I gathered my strength, remembered that my family needed me, and did what needed to be done.

There was a happy ending waiting for me on the other side.

It’s good thing, to make faith filled choices. 🙂