Keeping watch

Our first day on the beach was great. It was hot and sunny. The water was cool at first and then it got comfortable. I swam for hours riding the waves as much as I could without a boogie board. I got really tanned and coca buttered. I was swimming out a pretty good distance when I saw my wife on the shore. She motioned to me to come and get out of the water. It was not a panic look like last year when a dolphin swam really close in and she thought it looked like a shark because the fin stayed out of the water a little too long for her taste. No, there was no panic rather a look of concern on her face. When I got out she told me to look down the beach about 75 yards. I saw two life guards swimming out to a young girl who was boogie boarding. She must have got tired and then she started thrashing. The life guards swam out to her and had her grab on to there flotation device called a can. They pulled her in safely and all was well.

When the girl came out of the water she was fine and walked away. In the past we have seen more serious cases where the victim had to be brought by ambulance off the beach. I am very proud of the life guards we have at Virginia Beach. They are young and underpaid, however, they’re as much a hero as a fireman or police officer. One thing that impresses me about life guards is that they stand guard watching for a potential hazard. Most of their work is keeping people from danger. Out of all the times that I have been at the beach I have seen the Life guards go in the water less the 10 times. I do hear the whistle blowing all the time though. They keep people from going out to far and being reckless. Most of there work is that of a watchmen.

I think of my role as a husband. Am I being a good watchman for my family? Do I maintain the spiritual atmosphere in my home? Am I building up my wife the way I should be? Am I keeping junk from coming through our TV or other ways? I think about this quite a bit. I want to make sure I am doing my job as a husband. The responsibility is mine, and I am going to be held accountable for what happens on my section of beach.

I want to challenge you to become that watchman for your family. You are going to be the one to make the difference when the riptides come.