Wild Boars and Duck Boats

Two separate incidents this past summer on different sides of the world illustrated certain teachings of The Book of Grace. On June 23, 2018, twelve members of a youth football team called the Wild Boars and their coach became trapped in Tam Luang Cave in Thailand due to flooding caused by heavy rainfall. They were all rescued between July 8-10 through the efforts of thousands of volunteers, over 100 divers, and the prayers of millions around the world of different faiths. As with Apollo 13, none of the trapped victims should have survived. But the swarm intelligence of people working together for a common goal, as well as the combined YE from prayers, resulted in what can only be viewed as a miracle. This shows what humankind is capable of.

On July 19, seventeen people drowned when a Duck Boat sank in a sudden storm on Table Rock Lake in Missouri, USA. Among the victims were nine members of the same family, out of eleven who were on the boat. And those eleven were not even supposed to be on that boat, but had missed an earlier excursion. At the same time, all nine members of another family survived the tragedy. This demonstrates the randomness of life and death. God did not cause the storm, or love one family more than another. The survivors were not more faithful or prayerful than those who died. It was a matter of where they chose to sit in the boat. Sometimes in life you can chose where you sit, and other times you get the only seats that are available. Life is random, but Grace is a Constant. Enjoy its blessings while you can.

Desmond & Molly