Here’s a miraculous story at CNN -To infinity and beyond: A sparkling survival story:
After a rip current swept the [autistic] boy and his father out to sea Saturday, darkness fell, and the sound of rescue helicopters and boats grew faint until they were nonexistent.
… But after four hours at sea without a life vest, and after it became obvious that rescue operations had ceased for the night, jellyfish began to sting the pair. That began to “freak Christopher out,” his father said.
…After four hours, the currents picked up, and Christopher began to drift from his father’s reach. Because of the darkness, they couldn’t see each other.
… Under the stars and in the dark Atlantic, [the father] turned to his spirituality, realizing his life was in God’s hands. A religious medal rested on his chest.
It’s a long story, and I left out the best details because I wanted to focus on that last concept. Even for believers, who ostensibly know better, it often takes these kind of terrible events to remember that our lives are a vapor, and that every breath we take is a gift from God. We’re not entitled to anything. We go about our lives thinking we’re in control, until we find a lump, get T-boned in an intersection, feel a twinge in our chest, have a carport crash down on us, or – especially since tomorrow is 9/11 – are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and become the victims of purposeful evil. There are no guarantees. Our lives are in God’s hands.
