until we decided to have a family day...
outside...
in August...
cause we wanted to sweat have some fun together!
So we ventured out to a park...
a park under a bridge...
a park with a pier and some pretty cool views.
It was all fun and games until...
an unsuspecting family caught...
a stingray!
gasp
One of these days I will tell you about my run in with a stingray!
Let me just say that it ended with a week in the hospital, 2 surgeries and a hickman for 6 weeks - me - not the stingray!
Yeah...
Don't mess with stingrays y'all!
So anyway this unsuspecting family hooked a stingray and was clearly having trouble trying to release it while not getting hit by that barb!
It was not going well...
They needed help and my eldest who had just completed an internship at our local Aquarium knew it.
Now let me just back up a bit here and
mommy brag fill you in on what Christian has been up to this summer!
Way back in the fall of last year, Christian was nominated by his teachers to compete for a paid internship position at our wonderful, local Aquarium.
He completed his application and his essay and was selected as one of 20 students to train once a month for 4 months.
At the end of that 4 month period, the students again had to write and present a paper that they had researched and written.
Ten students were then chosen from the 20 to actually participate in the internship this summer and...
my sweet boy was one of them!
This was a true gift from the Lord and came at a time when Christian was really struggling with the direction in which he was being led...
as in no discernible direction...
other than feeling as if the military was not where he needed to be...
until this internship!
Now my sweet boy has a clearer picture of where he needs to be and the path his life may take!
He loved his time at the Aquarium!
I have to admit that as much as I love animals, the ones he was working with...
tend to give me nightmares...
hehe...
but he loved it!
How awesome is the Lord to provide such a clear direction for one so young in age and in faith!
so, back to the family day that was interrupted by a stingray...
It had been one day since Christian's internship had ended and he felt like he was right back at work!
He sprang into action and knew just what to do!
He was able to release the stingray...
without anyone getting hurt...
remember...
barb...
hospital...
surgeries...
shutter!
And... he got to educate the family a little bit in how to safely remove the hook and release the ray!
They were so grateful...
and I was so proud!
Thank you Lord for providing some direction.
Thank you Lord for reinforcing that direction by using the same animal who caused me some real life nightmares!
hehe
Just love watching Him work!
It took me a long time to be able to get back in that ocean but, over the years, the call of the boogy board...
overcame the fear of the barb!
*grin*
So our family day turned rescue mission ended with some ice cream, some pats on the back for my sweet Christian and one very happy stingray...
I think maybe we have earned some points in stingray land...
I hope so anyway!
