Rising Waters

“Mom! It’s so cold!”

Jacob, one of my seven-year-old twins, stood with river water lapping at his ankles.

My three other kids were having a similar reaction. With my husband away on a hunting trip, I’d joined my extended family for what I hoped would be a fun trip to some hot springs. So far, the “hot” springs were not living up to their name.

Steam rose from a little pond above the river. I moved closer and felt its warmth. “This must be a hot spring,” I thought.

“Can we swim in this?” I asked my aunt, whose children were also in the river.

“I don’t know.”

We looked for a sign that might indicate what the pond was for, but we couldn’t find anything. One by one, our shivering kids moved from the cold river to the pond. My aunt and I stood on the shore, watching and talking as they played.

An older boy appeared near the edge of the pond. “I’m letting the pool out!” he hollered. He cranked a big wheel, and water poured into the pond.

The kids shouted with excitement as the surge of water entered the pond. I was grateful I’d insisted they wear their life vests. I smiled as the rising current carried them toward the left side of the pond.

Jacob broke away from them, fighting the currents to swim to the right side of the pond. He stopped, and a look of serious surprise crossed his face. “Mom, I’m stuck!”

Without another thought, I jumped in and caught his arm to pull him to safety. He wouldn’t budge. Was he stuck on something? I kept pulling, but I couldn’t get him free. The water level continued to rise.

“You guys, he’s stuck! Someone, help me!” But I knew they were too far away.

A splash sounded, and my uncle appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed Jacob, tugging and pulling.

The water was almost over Jacob’s head. Was the life vest hooked on something? I grabbed a strap with shaking hands. By the time I got one buckle undone, the water covered Jacob’s head. “Oh, help!” I prayed.

My uncle yanked backward with all his might. Jacob popped free, and my uncle moved him to the bank.

I scrambled beside Jacob and gathered him in my arms.

“There’s a culvert,” my uncle said, pointing to a 24-inch pipe that we hadn’t noticed. Water was forcefully pushing through it into the river. Jacob’s life vest was most likely all that stopped him from being dragged through it.

With alarm, my uncle and I turned toward the rest of our family. “Everyone, get out!”

As the kids climbed out, I took off Jacob’s life vest and looked him over. He hadn’t swallowed too much water and didn’t have any scrapes or bruises.

“You were being so brave, buddy. Were you scared?”

“No, I just kept holding my breath,” he said. Suddenly I was so grateful for all the time he’d spent practicing holding his breath in the swimming pool.

“How did you know to come?” I asked my uncle as he joined us on the rocks.

“I felt a prompting to come see what everyone was doing,” my uncle said. “So, I came.”

When the others joined us, we looked at the edges of the pond again, and this time, we saw a fallen warning sign that blended in with the rocks and dirt at the side of the pond.

Everyone was shaken up, so I took the kids back to the camping trailer. “Let’s thank Heavenly Father for helping us,” I said. As my kids joined me in prayer, the reality of what had happened hit me.

I knew there were others in similar circumstances who faced a very different, devastating outcome. I didn’t know why Jacob had been saved, but I knew it was a miracle. As I drew my children closer, I was grateful for the time I had with them and the blessing of our eternal family. I knew Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were aware of us and that They had sent a miracle when we missed the warning signs of danger.