Sometimes Life Is Like That

I had a college roommate who sang in the choir at Weber State College and I sang in the Institute Choir.  In the spring of the year we both went on a singing tour.  I had just returned when Pat's group left.  She was excited about going and I was excited to share the excitement with her because of the great time I had on my trip.  Her group was going to California.  For a girl from New Mexico being near the ocean was a big thrill.

I remember sitting at my desk doing my homework with the radio going and hearing an announcement that there had been a tragic accident at San Francisco Bay park involving the students from the Weber State College choir.  I sat in horror wondering if Pat was alright.  The TV finally told the story, but I later got more details from Pat when she returned the next day.

Apparently they were all having a lot of fun playing at the beach.  Many of the group were expert swimmers and joked about the warning signs posted to warn swimmers about the rip tide.  Pat didn't dare to venture into the water very far, but one of her close friends did.  She watched him as he went out further and further into the bay. The group started yelling for him to return, but it appeared that he was not able to hear them.  She started to get worried when she noticed he was waving his arms and acting like he was in trouble.  Another friend saw the situation and rushed in to help the first boy, but he took got in trouble with the rip tide.  The entire choir stood there watching as their two friends were caught in the rip tide and carried under the water and out to sea.  The patrol hurried in to find them, but they never did. 

The choir members were so upset. They had tried to get the first boy to return to the shore, but he couldn't see the situation as clearly as they could. He wasn't aware of the danger he was in.  The second boy knew the danger and tried to help out, but got caught in the danger as well.

I remember sitting at the Fine Events Center waiting for the bus to return with the choir members.  I was there to pick up Pat and make sure she had a ride home.  It was the middle of the night but that didn't dampen the tears as we all asked questions about what had happened.  Pat said it was terrible seeing the trouble they were getting into and not being able to communicate with them so they would get out of the water.  The boy thought he knew what he was doing, but the danger was there, too close for him to see until it was too late.  The bodies were never recovered, but the image lived on.

Sometimes life is like that.  Others might be telling us they can see the danger, but we think we know exactly what we are doing, totally unaware of the dangers lurking right there next to us.  We need to learn that our loved ones only want the best for us when they warn us of the danger.  They don't want to go home without all members of the choir/family.  We need to remember they are looking at another angle, one that might be better suited to see the dangers near us.  They want us to be happy and enjoy the beach with them, but they don't want us to get in a situation that might harm us.  

They want us out of the rip tide.