The Heart of a Father, the Heart of God

In January 1982, I stood frozen before the television as a breaking news report interrupted whatever show I’d been watching. Shortly after takeoff from Washington, D.C., a plane bound for Florida hit the 14th Street Bridge in a winter storm and plummeted into the icy Potomac River. A few survivors clung to the tail of the plane, a small island of hope in the freezing water. Emergency response teams arrived quickly, but access was limited by the river’s thick ice.

They say you can survive in freezing water for only thirty minutes.

People were lined up on the streets to watch through the blinding snow. Hearts in shock. Hearts racing. Hearts praying. Feet paralyzed and powerless.

Nineteen minutes later, a helicopter arrived and hovered over the visible wreckage. The crew lowered a lifeline and started taking survivors to land, one at a time. Speed was critical, but when the rope dipped to Priscilla Tirado, her hands and arms were so numb she couldn’t grab it.

She cried out.

The rope went to another survivor.

I remember gasping hard. Lenny Skutnik might have too.

On his way home from work, Lenny witnessed the crash and then watched with other onlookers as the scene unfolded. When he saw Priscilla Tirado unable to grab the rope, he tore off his winter coat and ran toward the Potomac. He dove into the frigid water, swam to her, and pulled her to land. She had overwhelming hypothermia, but she trusted him, and he saved her life.

How did he see beyond the storm? What made him do this? I wondered.

Later in an interview, Mr. Skutnik stated, “I just couldn’t stand there and watch. I had to go get her. She was going to drown.”

***

Decades later I prayed to connect with God’s love for me. I read John 3:16, but it slid right off. It was like a hard rain after years of drought in West Texas—the rain bounces off the ground when you think it would soak in more quickly. My hardened heart responded much the same way. I didn’t share this with anyone because I felt as though I was failing to grasp the most important message in the Bible. The passage that brought so many to tears left me staring blankly.

I struggled through the ways I didn’t see him as a loving God. I questioned his promises and his plans. Was he really a good Father? I cried out to him and railed against him in the courtroom of my own heart. In my rants, I wrestled with God.

But in his vast love, he gave me what I needed. I expected to be pushed away by condemnation; instead, he drew close to me with tenderness. Rather than being punitive, he showed mercy and understanding. In his abundant grace, God brought Lenny Skutnik to mind. He helped me to connect his love for me to the man who dove into the icy water, who saw past the blizzard and saved a drowning woman.

This is the heart of God, the heart of a loving Father. The scene ripples through my faith journey. For God, too, saw that we were perishing. He sent his Son wrapped in baby-skin humanity to save us.

He sees us drowning in our icy financial messes, deteriorating health, judgmental thoughts, and broken hearts. He is aware of all our circumstances and perceives our deepest needs. Even when we hold him at a distance, he understands the ache in our hearts that makes us unwilling to trust him. Even then this God of ours runs toward us with a cord of hope—his outstretched hand. He isn’t paralyzed by the situation. [Tweet “Our Father doesn’t turn away. He jumps into our messes because he loves us so much.”]

Like Lenny, God sees past the storm and comes to save.

Terri Fullerton is a wife, empty-nest mom, and mentor who loves stories of redemption and things that are funny. She is currently working on her first book. Terri longs to encourage others to find hope and freedom through her writing about faith, family, hiking, and mental health at Conversations at the Table.