Dusti Talavera

Now Safe Am I

Four children, ages 4-11 and related to one another, were playing on a
frozen pond last Sunday, January 9, in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, when
suddenly three of them fell through the ice.

Thankfully, a 23-year-old neighbor, Dusti Talavera, saw it happen from her
window. She sprang into action. "Before I even realized it, I was out
there in the middle of the pond pulling two kids out," she later said during
a press conference. "And that's when I fell in."

Talavera was able to pull a 4-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy out of
the icy pond, but having fallen into the pond herself, she struggled to get
a 6-year-old girl out of the water. About that time, the little girl's
16-year-old male cousin threw a rope to them and was able to pull Talavera
and the little girl to safety.

At one point the little 6-year-old girl was unconscious and had no pulse,
but Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies and South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR)
officials performed CPR on her and rushed her to the hospital. She is now
in good health and reunited with her family.

When discussing the details of the rescue with sheriff's deputies, Talavares
told them she "wasn't concerned for her safety because they were babies and
they needed help." *

When we were drowning in sin, God saw our need and sent His Son to rescue
us. In order to save us from sin, Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the
price for our redemption (Ephesians 1:7).

James Rowe described what the Savior did for him and for us in the words of
a beloved song, Love Lifted Me:

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained
within, sinking to rise no more, But the Master of the sea heard my
despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.
Love lifted me!
Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me!

Rowe wrote this song in the early 1900s, but his lyrics remind us that the
Savior's offer of salvation is still available:

Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves; He will lift you by His
love Out of the angry waves.

God will lift from the angry waves of sin and give eternal life to those who
place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins
in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10),
and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts
2:38). He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in
the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

Struggling soul, look to Jesus and accept His offer of salvation on His
terms. Then joyously join in singing the refrain, "Love lifted me. now safe
am I!"

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from "Colorado good samaritan saves kids from icy pond
in dramatic rescue caught on video" by Bradford Betz of Fox News,
www.foxnews.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister