Jared cast his line into the water and settled back against his chair at the end of the dock. The sun peeked over the horizon and cascaded across the water. He sighed.

            Tim glanced over at his son while he baited his line. “Everything OK?”
            Jared turned toward his dad. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m happy to be here. I love fishing with you.”
            “I’m glad to hear that, but there’s clearly something on your mind. Everything OK with school? With your friends?”
            Jared nodded. “Yeah, school is fine, and my friends are good. I guess I’m just feeling kind of unimportant.” He raised his hand as Tim started to speak. “I know what you’re going to say, Dad. I’m important to my family and I’m important to God. I get that. But I’m just one guy in a little town in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see how I’ll ever be able to do anything really important in my life. I’m not particularly smart or athletic or anything, and we don’t have a family business I can join. I don’t know what I want to do with my life.”

            “You’re 16. You don’t need to know what you want to do with your life.”

            “Yeah, but Gavin plans to go to State and will likely get a football scholarship. Asher wants to go to art school, and Chase plans to work in his dad’s garage full-time after graduation. I’ve always has this desire to do something really big with my life, but I don’t see how that will ever happen.”

            Tim set his hook and cast into the water, the line making ripples across the lake. “You know, son, we serve a mighty big God. He can do more than you could ever imagine. If He’s put it in your heart to do something really big, you better believe He has plans for you. Do you know the story of King Saul in the Bible?”

            “Yeah, didn’t he turn into Paul?”

            Tim chuckled. “No, that’s a different Saul. This Saul is from the Old Testament. He was just an ordinary guy, hanging out at home, when his dad sent him out to go look for their lost donkeys. So Saul goes out with a family servant to find them. He has no idea where they’re going to go, since they’re just wandering around looking for the donkeys. Well, they end up searching near where the prophet Samuel is. Samuel invites Saul to a feast. And after the feast, he anoints him as the king of Israel.”

            Jared’s eyes widened. “You mean he started the day looking for donkeys and ended the day as a king? That’s crazy.”

            Tim adjusted his line. “It is crazy. When Samuel spoke to him, Saul said he was from the smallest tribe and his family wasn’t important. He didn’t think very highly of his chances to be noticed. Saul had no idea what was going to happen to him that day, but God knew. God told Samuel a man was going to come to him looking for donkeys, and that was who he should anoint as king.”

            “Wow, Dad. So you’re telling me I could start this day as a simple kid going fishing with my dad, but at the end of the day I could be king?”

            Tim chuckled again. “Well, that’s not terribly likely, but you never know with God. He does some pretty incredible things sometimes. You’ve got amazing potential.” Tim grimaced and pressed his hand to his chest.

            “What’s wrong, Dad?”

            “I’m not sure. I just started feeling a little off.”

            Jared studied his dad’s face. Tim grew pale and sweat broke out on his forehead. Jared grabbed his phone. “Dad, you’re not OK. I’m calling 911.”

            Tim frowned. “I’m fine. Maybe my breakfast didn’t agree with me.”

            “No. I’m calling.” Jared dialed the number, told the dispatcher what was happening and gave them a detailed location of the dock. A moment later, Tim slumped in his seat. Jared dropped the phone and rushed over to his father.  “Dad? Dad? He shook his shoulders, but Tim didn’t respond. Jared grabbed for his phone. “My dad just passed out. What should I do?”

            “You’ll need to start CPR. Do you know how to do that?”

            Jared wracked his brain. He’d taken a first aid class the year before. “Yeah, 30 compressions and 2 breaths. Got it.” He set down the phone, slid his father to the dock, and started CPR. For several minutes the world disappeared. It was only him and his father and this moment. His pulse raced and his arms ached, but he continued until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

            “We’ll take it from here, son.”

            Jared sat back as two paramedics worked on his father. After shocking his heart back into a normal rhythm, they loaded Tim on a gurney and started rolling him down the dock. Jared jogged alongside.

            “Can I go with him? He’s my dad.”
            The paramedics glanced at one another. “Sure. Climb in.”

            As the siren wailed and the ambulance sped to the hospital, Tim’s eyes fluttered open. His gaze landed on Jared. “You saved my life.”

            The paramedic grinned at Jared. “He’s right, you know. Most adults freeze when something like that happens. You did exactly the right thing. If you hadn’t acted when you did, your dad might not have made it. You’ve got great instincts. Have you ever thought about being a paramedic? We could use a lifesaver like you.”

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God, thank you for the gifts you’ve given us. You want to use us to do great things. And while we won’t be a king, there are so many other possibilities. Thank you for the people in our lives who encourage us. Help us to be open to Your leading, and help us encourage those You place in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.