Have
you ever put yourself out for someone you didn’t know? You know like
helping someone even to the point of your own detriment, like the Good
Samaritan
did.
Just
in case you are not familiar, here’s a quick summary. Regular guy sets
out on a journey and gets accosted by muggers. They take everything he
has
leaving him for dead. Sometime afterward two religious men happen by
and see the man’s predicament. Tragically, neither stops to help, but
rather walk by on the other side. Then a man who was raised to disdain
the nearly dead man, stops to assist him. The
compassionate man tends to his wounds, personally transports him to
proper care and puts it all on his bill. Now that’s a heck of a guy.
When
I think about story of the Good Samaritan, two common responses run
through my mind. The first response, when faced with someone else’s
misfortune,
is to stand around and do nothing or just to keep moving. The second
response, which I believe is the best option, is to go all out and do
what needs done with no thought of personal gain.
Just
the other week, I read about a guy from Tennessee who on his way to work
saved an entire family from harm. He was driving on a busy road and
saw
a woman with some kids whose car was struggling with smoke billowing
out of it. He convinced her to pull off the road and then proceeded to
get them all out to safety. The car then caught on fire. All this as
others drove by, only he and one other guy
stopped to help. Had the man not acted promptly, the results could have
been far different and possibly tragic. However, he put himself out
and did the right thing.
Then there’s the story of the ill-fated Air Florida Flight 90, which was set to depart from
Washington,D.C. on January 13th, 1982. However, due to the ice on the wings the plane crashed into the 14th
St. Bridge and then plunged into the frigid Potomac River. On that
dreadful day over seventy passengers lost their lives, nevertheless
five miraculously survived.
One of them survived because of Lenny Scutnik’s fast thinking heroics. At the time, Lenny was
a 28 year old government errand runner, who just happened be at the scene. In the icy water, was
one passenger, Priscilla Tirado, who was too weak to grab the line dropped from a rescue helicopter.
She was yelling out for somebody to please help her and then appeared to pass out in the icy water.
This is what Skutnik said in response to what he saw, “When the girl needed saving, God
had looked around and said, eenie, meenie, minie and you’re mo.
So, I jumped in.”
All this while, others stood horrified not knowing what to do in the
freezing temperatures, waiting for the proper rescue teams to come give
assistance. So, Lenny took off his boots, dove into the frigid river
and swam out nearly thirty feet to get her. Then, he brought her back
to shore where she was transported to a hospital, thus saving her life.
On
a side note, before I discuss my favorite story, I would like to share
something personal.
When I was fourteen, due to a leg cramp and poor swimming technique, I
nearly drowned in a camp lake. Had it not been for a friend who
initially got me back to the surface, then a girl, half my weight, used
all her force till she got me to where I could stand
safely. I never did get to thank her. It is an awful feeling to have
no control of your own destiny and needing to be saved. Yet, I am so
grateful to be rescued knowing it was none of my doing.
Now
here is the heroic tale of Joe Delaney. It was thirty years ago, yet it
still speaks volumes
to me and somehow has stayed with me all these years. At the time,
Delaney had just completed his second year as a professional football
player for the Kansas City Chiefs. On June 30th, 1982, he was
at a park in Monroe, Louisiana with friends when
he heard three boys scream for help in a nearby pond. The pond was
once a construction pit, which had a deadly drop in it, and the boys were
in over their heads. Joe Delaney, who couldn’t swim, didn’t hesitate. He
jumped into the pond to rescue them, all the
while others watched, afraid to help because of the danger.
In
the end, one boy survived while two boys and Joe drowned. Although
Delaney’s action cost
him his life, like Louisiana sunshine, his example still shines today.
It left a lasting impression on me, because even though he didn’t
survive, he made an all-out effort to save someone else’s life. He held
nothing back and showed that the life of someone
he didn’t even know, was more important to him than his very own.
May it never be said of us that we were just onlookers when others needed a helping hand, and
may all our headstones read like Joe Delaney’s:
“Greater love hath no man, than to lay down his life for another.”
Swavel
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