By Rae Lynn DeAngelis
After setting up our home away from home, complete with beach chairs, umbrella, boogie boards, and enough drinks and sunscreen to last the afternoon, my husband Gerry and I were eager to escape the hot Florida sun and made our way down to the ocean.
As we walked down to the water’s edge, the waves were just right for surfers to hone their skills on a surfboard. Several vacationers were taking advantage of the ideal conditions; the beach was packed with families having fun in the sun.
As we waded into the waist deep water, Gerry saw two dark objects in the distance, but they were too far off to make out.
“I wonder what that is,” he gestured to get my attention.
At first I couldn’t see anything. But after several points in the same direction, I finally saw what he was talking about. Removing my sunglasses to get a better look, I shrugged, “I’m not sure… it might be people on wave runners or something.” Satisfied with our assumption we began playing in the surf.
About thirty minutes later, two lifeguards took off on a wave runner in a very big hurry. We suddenly realized we were witnessing a real life rescue mission.
The far off objects had actually been two amateur surfers with rented boards. Because of the rough conditions of the water, the girls had been swept out to sea and couldn’t make their way back to shore.
Gerry and I, both, felt a pang of regret, realizing our missed opportunity to help someone in need. Thank goodness someone else was proactive and alerted the lifeguards! A wave of nausea hit me when I considered what could have happened if no one had notified the beach patrol.
I began to reflect on my other missed opportunities to help someone in need: the car sitting on the side of the highway with the hood propped up; the man standing on the opposite side of the road with a sign “Homeless and hungry”, the lonely neighbor who came to door but was never invited in because I was working. These are just a few of the missed opportunities that have been weighing on my mind.
Even though it pains me to realize how many times I have fallen short, I’m grateful to know that our God is a God of second chances. When we mess up, He provides future opportunities to get it right the next time.
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:1-4)
Dear Lord, thank you for your little nudges to be more aware, more proactive, and more compassionate. Help me be to be more like you, Jesus, putting others needs before my own, knowing full well that you will bless my obedience and make sure my own needs are taken care of too.
