There’s nothing we won’t do for our mothers, and the same goes for a son who swims half a mile in flood waters to rescue his wheelchair-bound mother. 86-year-old Karen Lauder has seen more than her fair share of floods, storms, and hurricanes.
When it was suggested that she evacuate, she preferred to hunker down in her own home, surrounded by what was familiar to her. But she had no idea how badly Hurricane Ian would devastate Florida.
She ended up calling her son for help as flood waters began rushing into her house, rising quickly. Johnny knew he couldn’t wait for rescuers to get to her, and he swam half a mile to get his mom to safety. By the time her son, Johnny, arrived, his mother was up to her shoulders in black, murky, debris-filled water.
He wrapped his mother up and set her on a table in order to help her fight hyperthermia and exhaustion. Johnny knew they couldn’t wait out the hurricane at his mother’s house, and he knew she needed medical treatment right away.
The pair then began the long treacherous hike filled with moments of swimming to get his mother to the nearest hospital. The word rescue causes many different dramatic pictures to flood our minds. It stirs our emotions. We ask why God would rescue us, especially if we were the cause of our need to be rescued. But that is the beautiful thing about the Lord. Before we even know we need to be rescued, he is already on his way.
This incredible rescue is a reminder of how God is the God of rescues. He saves our souls and restores our lives to complete salvation when we entrust ourselves into his hands.
If you are going through a storm right now, know that you are not alone. God is with you in the raging wind. He is with you as the waters rise, and he is with you in the darkest of nights.
“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24