Miraculously Saved from Drowning - A Jeremiah & Kathryn York Story
I must preface this testimony by saying we know full well the mistake that we made this day and are so grateful to God that He watches over us even when we aren't always thinking everything through but it is still a miracle testimony and I felt I wanted to share it with those who read the 'But God' Testimony blog.
Many years ago when our children were much younger (maybe 10 & 13) we would occasionally visit a place called Browns Beach which in reality wasn't really a beach at all as we live in the state of Arkansas and there are no real beaches. It is more like a place where you have access to the lake, boating, picnic tables, etc... But also the water levels enabled people to go in and enjoy the water. Our children (4) had never actually had swimming lessons. It was simply something that we could not afford as our children grew up even at our local swimming pool. My husband however was a water nut. He actually taught himself to swim and lived on the central coast of California for most of his life. His idea of life was walking to the beach area at Morro Rock and spending the day. We moved from Califonia to South Texas around 2001 and he loved that even more. The water in California is very cold whereas the water in Texas was beautifully warm when you went in almost like a sauna. I myself am not a water person so I too never really learned how to swim because I didn't care to go in. If I went into a pool it was at the shallow end where I could stand and enjoy myself for a few minutes or be in with my kids but that was it. It was just never my thing.
Once we moved to Arkansas which was around 2008 my husband began to miss his water. We looked into places that we could go so that he could still get in. We found one place that we thought looked great but he went in and walked way out and found that some kind of fish were literally jumping around him and biting him so that was a no-go. Then we were told about Browns Beach in Bull Shoals so we decided to check it out. Once he found water again it almost became a weekly thing and we went as a family. I was always there and we made sure the kids had floaters on their arms and that they stayed close to the shore because they'd never taken swimming lessons. On this particular day, my husband decided he wanted to go spend some time in the water and only 2 of the kids wanted to go so I stayed home with the other 2 because they just weren't into going that day. Never did I imagine that just my not being there could cause what almost became a tragedy for our family 'but God'.
My husband told the kids to stay close to the shore area because he wanted to walk out far enough so that he could get under and enjoy the water. Apparently, the kids were together but hadn't put on their arm floaters. They intended to stay right there by the shore so they only had pool noodles that kept them floating above the water close to the shore. However, while my husband was out several feet in and out of the water the kids began to float out further and they got to a point where their feet were no longer feeling the bottom. One got scared and started to go under. The noodle got away from her and so my son tried to help her but that meant his noodle got away from him as well. Their father was enjoying the water and hadn't realized they'd floated out like they had. Finally, he saw what was happening and began trying to get to them but it was no use. They were simply too far away and he'd put on a lot of weight at that time and although he headed in their direction to try to help them he was getting nowhere fast as the kids were now separated and both were splashing and going under. He knew he'd never get to them both. At this exact time, a car pulled up with two men inside. They got out jumped into the water and pulled both of our kids out to safety. AMAZING! PRAISE THE LORD! Even more amazing was that once my husband got to shore and was able to get back with the kids and thank the men for doing what they'd done to save them the men acknowledged him and made sure the kids were okay.
My husband was in tears and so were the kids. So grateful that we had not lost 2 of our children that day. He felt to go thank them yet again and as he turned to do so they were gone. They'd come to Browns Beach looking like they were going to get in, maybe swim, enjoy the day and then they pulled up, got out, saved our kids, and left immediately. I've always believed they were Angels on assignment. The Bible teaches us that Angels can appear like men. If we look at the story of Sodom & Gomorrah there is no mention of wings on these two men who came to pull Lot and his family out. If we read the story of the Angel visiting Mary to tell her of Christ's birth there is no mention that the Angel was flying or hovering over her. Hebrews clearly tells us that we don't always know when we have had an Angelic visitation. No one can tell me differently. Our kids and our family experienced the love and mercy of God that day. Even remembering this today as I write it brings tears to my eyes. I cannot imagine losing even one child but losing two in one day and in one tragedy I don't even know if I could handle it or who I would be today.
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