10 minutes. That’s all it took to bring a life to an end on a beach last August. It was an experience that in some ways led me to discover the World Race trip. His name was Martell Clark. There is this strange wanting to know who he was, who his family was and how they were dealing with his too short life of 28 years old coming to a sudden end. He had a little girl. He was engaged to be married to a lady that was with him on the beach that day. That’s it. That’s all I know. He was a stranger to me.
He was a stranger to probably well over 100 people that watched him drown not that far from shore.
He was a stranger when they took his lifeless body away on a stretcher.
He was a stranger when he was gone and everyone went back to their casual lazy day at the beach as if nothing on earth had changed.
At some point in my journey, I might be at the very mercy of strangers. My very life could depend on someone who didn’t even know I existed moments before.
I’ll never forget looking out into the sea of people standing around acting so casual about what was happening. I can only describe them as dead. I just didn’t get it. When we screamed for help when we found Martell and no one came, the staring faces looking at me seemed more lifeless than Martell himself.
What an odd experience. It drew me to fast and pray for God to show up in my family because things were happening and I couldn’t fix them. We were drowning. I needed God to show up. The following day, I made a new friend who told me God had called her to go on the World Race mission’s trip. I was ready myself. It was an experience I think maybe I needed to see the lifeless people with no mercy for strangers. It was unbearable to watch. I shudder when I see the people on the beach in my mind more than when I cradled Martell’s head in my arms when I swam to shore.
At some point in my journey, I may need to show mercy to a Stranger. His very life could depend on me even if I didn’t even know He existed moments before.
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Heb 13:2
8.5.12
