“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." ~ 2 Timothy 1:7
The sun shimmered over the
waterpark, where infectious laughter and pounding music filled the air. Darin
stood beside the activity pool, watching his adult son.
Kevin was cognitively challenged; sometimes his world felt
like an overwhelming barrage of noise. He usually preferred the quiet of his
room at home, surrounded by magazines. But here, the water changed everything.
His shoulders relaxed, and a rare smile brightened his face.
Darin loved bringing him here. In the water, the barriers
that usually separated Kevin from others seemed to loosen, allowing him to
simply enjoy being with people.
Today, Kevin ventured toward the big blue slide—the one he'd
not yet been able to conquer. Darin watched from a safe distance, fists
clenched tight in his pockets, praying this time might be different.
Kevin climbed the metal stairs one cautious step at a time.
At the top, the roar of rushing water and the piercing shrieks of children
crashed over him again. He froze.
Darin started up the stairs, his fatherly instinct surging,
ready to help his son climb back down. Halfway up, he stopped. Something about
his son looked different. The fear in his eyes had softened.
Someone else had reached Kevin first.
A young girl, no older than seven with freckles and messy
sun-bleached curls, was offering advice to the much-taller Kevin. She ignored
the line of impatient swimmers huffing behind her, keeping her gaze locked on Kevin.
"It’s just a little bit of splashing," she whispered as if
sharing a secret. "If you breathe deep like a sleepy turtle, the water
isn't scary at all."
She climbed into the blue tube. Whee! Her giggles echoed all
the way down the slide.
As he glided down, his initial
fear gave way to a rush of cool air. He splashed into the pool with a smile so radiant
that Darin’s heart soared.
Kevin surfaced, shaking water from his brow. The little girl
was waiting for him, clapping as though she'd just watched a friend accomplish
something extraordinary.
Darin lost count of how many times Kevin climbed those blue
stairs that afternoon. Each trip began with courage and ended with laughter. It
became an answer to a father's prayer, reminding him that sometimes God
entrusts His gentlest work to small voices, wearing wet sandals, speaking
courageously.
