Earlier this year a British tourist, Andrew Priestly, was swimming on the NSW coast with his 10 and 12 year old sons when they suddenly cried for help as a savage rip began to drag them under.
Andrew swam to their rescue, holding them up until a surfer arrived and took the distraught boys to shore.
When the surfer arrived back to retrieve the father he found him face down in the water.
Efforts to revive him failed and it was later discovered he had died from a heart attack.
He had literally exhausted his heart in his efforts to save the lives of his children.
This is the God-given love that should define the life of a parent – to be willing to lay one’s life down – but it is not always the way.
The heroism of Andrew Priestly is the extreme example of self-sacrifice, but the heart of every parent should at least be aspiring to this level of love.
Several weeks ago I found myself sitting beside a 20 year old man on a city pavement in the cold hours of the night.
As tears rolled down his cheeks he rocked back and forth with hands cupped over his ears. “I just want it all to stop”, he screamed, “Make it all stop”.
What he wanted to cease was the sense of pain, abandonment, self-loathing and emptiness that had always haunted him.
I have known Jake since he began roaming the streets at the age of 12.
His mother had her own issues and was not capable of looking after him and he had spent many of his early years in government care.
He had never known his father, so he didn’t have anyone who was willing to hold him up when the ravages of life began to drag him under.
I thought of my own son Joseph, who recently turned 12 – the same age Jake was when I first met him. Later that night as I prayed I asked myself, “What if that was my son crying out in despair as he pondered yet another lonely night on the streets?”
I don’t claim to audibly hear from God, but a deep sense resonated within me that His heart was crying out, “That IS my son”.
The heart of God. It lives within each one of us and we are called to reflect it throughout our lives.
For most parents it becomes more deeply alive when we behold our children and a love greater than any we have known comes alive.
But, as Christians, we are called to extend this love beyond our flesh and blood. “Love one another as I have loved you”, Jesus commanded.
That is not to say that we can simply replicate the love that comes naturally toward our children, but we are called to choose to love all others, especially those most vulnerable and lost.
It is a far more difficult love to fulfil because it is not born from a natural desire, but rather from a choice to live out the will of God.
But we must also trust that God’s grace will follow our choices. No matter what stage we are at in our journey of loving others, we are all called to extend ourselves further – to love beyond our comfort zone. However we can only do this through God’s intervention.
If we feel overwhelmed and helpless even thinking about the darkness currently being experiences by thousands of children within our own country, then we must pray for the courage to step beyond our fear and embrace them, at least, in our hearts.
If we have already emotionally embraced these children then we should be seeking God as to whether He wants us to take a deeper and more practical step to practically fulfil the yearning He has planted within.
Does he want us to be one of the unsung saints dotted throughout our communities who have accepted the most vulnerable and damaged children, not only in their hearts, but into their homes and lives.
People who have chosen, either through fostering or mentoring programs, to step beyond any sense of fear or helplessness and live out God’s cry for sacrificial love.
These are the people who are making a real difference to the lives of the most vulnerable. These are the ones who are healing and preventing the wounds that continue to bleed within Jake and thousands of others like him.
These are the heroes who are bringing the intended love of God into the lives of those who need it most.
Could you be one of these heroes? For more details on fostering, ranging from a few days to a lifetime, see www.dcp.wa.gov.wa or www.mackillop.org.au/Fostercare.
For information of Big Brother/Big Sister, a mentoring program for disadvantaged youth, see www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org.au.