God's Faithfulness

From the Desk of David Boyd, National BGMC Director

It was Easter Sunday just after noon. The children’s service had just ended. We had an early service and a late service with an Easter egg hunt sandwiched in. Everything went great. The workers did their jobs. The 600 or so kids came to church and experienced the egg hunt, and best of all, many visitors accepted Jesus, as well as many of their parents in the adult service. That’s when it happened.

There was a tug on my arm. Service was out; kids were being dismissed to their parents. The usual pack of children was crowding up near me, coming for last minute hugs and affirmation from their children’s pastor. Many of them wanted to show the great prizes they had just won or all the candy they found. The tugging on my sleeve grew stronger. “Just a minute,” I said, trying to give attention to those who were in line first.

The tugging got even stronger. I looked to my right in order to explain to this child that he would have to wait his turn, when my heart stopped. There he was, an eleven-year-old boy. He was blue. I mean blue! His eyes bulged and his hands were frantic. He was choking.

Nothing I could ever put down on paper could describe what I felt at that moment. The thought that ran through my mind was, This boy is dying! Jesus, please help me, I prayed as I grabbed the nearest older boy and said, “Get me some adults to help me now!” Even so, I knew there was no one nearby, it was up to me. The workers were at the doors. Hundreds of children were between me and the nearest adult. I grabbed the boy and turned him around and began the Heimlich maneuver. At that moment I was very grateful for the first aid training I had received through Royal Rangers. As a children’s pastor, I feel I should never stop learning, and I should learn what I ask my leaders to learn. In this case, that meant first aid training. As I pulled back on the boy’s stomach with my fists I waited for the object to dislodge. It didn’t.

Ministry comes into focus at times like these. We had prayed for a successful day, for unsaved children to come and receive Christ. We had prayed for good weather. We had prayed for safety on the egg hunt. (Yes, kids can get trampled if you don’t think things through.) We had asked God to lead this event. And that included this moment! Through my mind raced the words of the first aid instructor, “It’s better to pull so hard that you’re scared of injuring the child than to have them die in your arms!” I pulled back hard! I was scared. There was a loud pop followed by a loud gasp, then tears and cries. But, oh, the joy of hearing him cry! Soon adults came and a medic arrived. He would be fine.

This eleven-year-old boy will forever stay in my mind as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and a reminder that as good leaders we must prepare ourselves in every way possible. In this case, I am very thankful for Royal Rangers leaders who trained me in first aid. Never get complacent, always pray, keep investing in yourself to be the best caregiver of the lives God places in your hands.