You never know where the trail leads

I have a great group of students in my classes at Grace Academy. Earlier this week, we had some excitement. One of our students collapsed during PE class, needed CPR and use of a defibulator to bring his heart back to beating.

Here is some of what happened behind the scenes: On the Wednesday prior, our chapel speaker spoke on the theme "Living Well, Dying Well." He was exhorting us to live in such a way that we would be remembered with godly character. He had been impacted with this message by the death of his father earlier in the year. It was a moving and important message.

I require the students to take notes during chapel. Then, by Friday, they are to turn in those notes with a paragraph of application. On this particular week, the assignment due date was postponed to Monday due to a short school day on Friday.

My student wrote a very good reflection paper on chapel and ended with a good conclusion. He turned it in to me at the end of class, about 2 PM. Before 3:00PM, he had collapsed on campus and was enroute to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the father of a student, a paramedic by profession, was on campus to re-enroll his son for next year. He had taken the wrong papers to the office and so walked back to his car to get the right ones. As he walked past the gym, a group of students ran past him, doing their laps of the campus for PE class. Our student was part of that group. The dad began to walk back up the hill and came across our student who had just collapsed. Several other students were on the scene and were sent to have a call made and to get the PE teacher. The on campus defib. machine was rushed to the scene, applied and administered a shock as needed to restore this student.

Looking back, this is a wonderful story of God's provision and care. A paramedic on campus at just the right time. A chapel message for spiritual preparation. A concerned student body seeking to be a help to a fellow student. And a piece of equipment for just the right purpose, added to the resources of the school after a different student collapsed last year at his home.

God is so good. He provides for us, prepares us and delivers us often in ways we cannot imagine. Give thanks to the wonderful provision of our Great God!!