The first time I can remember doing anything courageous would be saving my good friend from drowning. It was the summer of 1995. My good friends and I were out riding on our four wheelers and it got pretty hot out later that afternoon so we decided to go for a swim. Just like most guys, we’ve all done some pretty crazy things when we were young. We were taking turns jumping from the top of a bridge into the creek approximately 50 feet below! I was the first to go and man it was awesome — a huge rush! We continued and after a while we started to get tired but still we kept jumping. After my friend Travis jumped the rest of us were talking and noticed there was no sign of Travis! I leaned over the bridge and saw him downstream gasping for air struggling to stay above the water. Not even thinking, I dove in to rescue my friend. Seeing the current was very strong taking us both further down, I just went for it! I swam to the very bottom and sling-shot myself to push him to safety.
While the rescue was a success we both were exhausted from the power of the current sucking us down. To this day I tell the story of how God had me to just leap and help — not even thinking about it first — to save my friend’s life. I give all credit to God for filling me with compassion and responding to help my friend.
MENTENTIONAL 