Forwarded prayers

by Tami Rudkin
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:04 PM MDT

Somehow, I have gotten on a few people’s “This is so great I have to forward this to everyone I know” list. I just hate that.

I opened my e-mail after being gone a week and had 300 e-mails and three of them were personal (this may be a slight exaggeration).

The point is I am forwarded stuff that is interesting, hilarious, disturbing and thoughtful.

But most of it just sucks up time to read and then delete, because where am I going to store all of this information? Most of it I won’t even read … trash can.

However, after reading the following story, I may be a little more careful.

Kimberly sat down at her computer one morning to discover that a good friend from her church had written a prayer, sent it on to her with the request to forward it to anyone who might need it.

So Kimberly sent it on to her best friend, who was a new believer and needed a boost of encouragement. She forwarded it to a fellow writer who was struggling with some serious health issues.

She sent it to her sister who had recently discovered that prayer could move mountains. And then she forwarded it to her 20-year-old son who lived a couple of miles away.

Scott was lobstering part-time. Kimberly knew he was working that early morning, but she figured he’d open the e-mail when he got home. She went on with her morning.

After taking her younger kids to school, she ran errands that kept her out of the house most of the morning.

Around noon, when she finally arrived home, she found Scott sitting in her living room with his foot bandaged up. Slowly, he stood and bear-hugged Kimberly.

She could feel the fear as he trembled with relief that his mom was near.

What he went on to tell his mom is the stuff of which nightmares are made.

Scott and his captain had gone out at 3 that morning to pull traps. Around 8, Scott was in charge of throwing the lines of traps over the side of the boat while the captain was at the helm.

Most of the lines held 20 traps, but the last line he threw had only 14. Scott had no idea his foot was tangled in the extra line. As he threw it, the weight of the traps pulled him over the side of the boat.

Fighting with all of his strength to hold onto the boat, he felt the icy cold of the black water below. He knew that without immediate help, death was looming.

“The captain, oblivious to the situation, continued steering the boat along its course. After a few minutes, though, he peeked around the corner to shout to Scott.

“Oh dear God!” he exclaimed as he hurried toward her son, dangling over the side of the boat. He frantically cut the line holding the traps and pulled Scott to safety.

Kimberly grabbed her son again and clung to him a minute longer; relief and gratefulness flooded her body that he was sitting in her home again.

Later, Scott sent his mom an e-mail. He casually noted that the prayer that she had forwarded him that morning was sent at 8 a.m., the exact time he was hanging over the side of the boat fighting for his life.

First, I am so impressed by the woman who wrote the original prayer. Did she know who might need that prayer that morning? I doubt it. But she prayed and passed it along.

Secondly, I am convicted about opening my forwarded e-mails (not really). Seriously, I am deeply moved that God hears our simplest prayers and acts on our behalf.

He is so amazing.

(Larry and Linda Kloster sponsor this column.)

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