Above Water
In 2008, a heroic act that occurred in Nokesville, Virginia aired on the news.
All of the children from the family were grown and had since moved out of the house, except for one — a son with Down Syndrome. While completing some yard work, the son fell through the septic tank cover on their property and couldn’t get out. The father climbed in, and held the son above the putrid water until help came, but the father drowned by doing so.
The son was hospitalized due to infection, but he soon recovered.
That father is a hero and an example to us all.
As men, as fathers and husbands, as natural born leaders, we’re called to hold others up, especially in our families.
Not always in the literal, physical sense, but spiritually and emotionally. We’re called to look past ourselves, to think of others first. We’re called to sacrifice.
And, sacrifice can hurt — it’s hard. By definition, we’re giving something up, or laying something down.
But, it’s that kind of love — laying down one’s life for another — that will transform our communities, our Church, and the world.