The Father's Arms

I first noticed him Friday night at the Water Park.

His board shorts were pulled up high over his waist. I thought perhaps he was in fourth grade or so. But he had a mustache type growth of hair on his upper lip. It looked like the mustache I tried to unsuccessfully grow one time. Obviously he wasn't in elementary school.

His arms were extremely thin along with his legs. And then I noticed his hands. They looked like no hands I had ever seen him before. There were maybe three digits instead of five. His right pinky looked more like a long thumb. His toes were extremely curled under his feet. His eyes were distant. His steps halting. He was mentally and physically challenged.

He descended the steps into the enormous amoeba shaped hot tub. With each step he stopped... turned his head as far around as he could and looked for permission and approval from his father who sat not too far away. With each look the father gave "the nod." And with each "nod" the son took one more step into the hot tub. The whole process must have lasted six to seven minutes. Once he was fully in the water, his flat facial expression never changed.

Saturday morning Faith and I were climbing the steps for the indoor Water Slide. With the "double inner-tube" in hand we noticed that this boy was in front of us walking up the stairs holding his father's arms. We arrived at the launching platform and the young boy's feet dug into the planks below him. His back arched. His arms stretched out wide. He leaned back with all his might. He was not about to go on this ride.

My iWitness...

It wasn't more than a few seconds later that the boy was on the inner-tube making his way down the 500 foot slide. Faith and I were not far behind. As we made our way out of the wading pool we fell in step with the boy and his father on their way back up for another ride.

This time his facial expression was all smiles! That expression never left his face for the rest of his time in the Water Park.

Do you know why he was smiling? At the launching pad the father reached over and reach around with his strong and loving arms and held his son reassuringly. The father whispered into the son's ear as the father's arms lifted the son into the water and into the inner-tube. With another "nod" the father's arms pushed the inner-tube and off the son went on a most thrilling ride!

Our time at the Water Park had come to an end and we as a family had checked out and were walking down the hallway. That "father" was walking about twenty feet ahead of us. I called out, "Excuse me sir. He turned around and I walked up to him and I said, "I really enjoyed watching you and your son interact with one another today. It was a joy for me to watch you with him." He shook his head in a humble way, shook my hand and said, "Thank you, my name is David." I said, "Mine too!" We laughed. I reiterated my appreciation and he started to walk away. I asked him, "What is your son's name?" "KJ" was his reply. He went on, "It stands for Kenneth John, named after my grandfather and my father." I said, "That's a great name." We caught each other's gaze one last time and then we went our separate ways.

Kenneth John is in for the ride of his life!

Do you know why?

Because of his father's arms...

And we can enjoy this ride called life too, if we will simply and profoundly trust the "Father's Arms."

"The eternal God is your dwelling place,
     and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deuteronomy 33. 27)

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!