“In the water, some of the kids tensed up. Because they had never been swimming, they didn’t know how to relax,” Mike said. “At times, I didn’t know which was worse: catching our breath after the waves crashed over our heads or the kids squeezing or crushing my hands in fear as the next wave hit us.”

Smiling, Mike added, “Of course, I had fun too. I told them that there were baby lake sharks in the water. While pretending to be a shark, I pinched their ankles. Then I popped out of the water, laughing and hugging the kids. It was priceless.”

While attending a class, I listened to a young pastor named Mike describe his adventure of taking inner city students to a Lake Michigan beach. Many of these young people didn’t know how to swim or float but that didn’t deter them. After arriving at the lake, some of the students sprinted towards the water while others slowly ventured into the water.

During his talk, Mike passed around photos of the beach outing. One particular photo grabbed my attention. In the picture, waves enraptured a young boy. As he crouched, anticipating the next in-coming wave, he almost seemed to smile—ready to meet the challenge. Inspired, I knew I had to paint a watercolor painting of this picture.

After class, I quickly made my way over to Mike, asking for permission to borrow the photo. He agreed but added, “I have an even better copy, and I will get it to you.”

Several months later, I showed Mike the completed painting. As he stared at my artwork, he started crying. Then he began to talk about the students he took to the beach that day.

Mike explained, “These kids had never learned how to play. At 10, 11, and 12, they are forced to grow up without ever really having a chance to simply be a child. Their freedom, innocence, and childhood is replaced by adult responsibilities—taking care of younger brothers and sisters, working to pay the bills, or putting food on the table. Sometimes they might even miss lunch, because their mom needed the money for the bus fare to work.”

“But the beach trip,” he said, “gave the kids a chance to get away from the harsh realities of life and have some fun.” At the beach, Mike attempted to help these young people reclaim their innocence: “Give them a little taste of the childhood they never had.”

Love echoed in Mike’s voice. And his eyes glimmered as he talked about his desire to help these young people experience hope. Because Mike understood that if he could communicate true hope to the students, their lives would be forever changed.

Learning how to trust

But more importantly, Mike aimed at a bigger goal, introducing them to Jesus. He endeavored to teach them how to trust the One, who would faithfully grip their hands in the midst of all the challenging waves of life.

That day at the beach while playing in the surf, Mike firmly clasped the students’ hands. After each wave swept over their heads, the students coughed and sputtered. Then Mike would ask, “Do you want to head back to the shore yet?”

Gasping for breath, the students shouted back, “No. This is awesome. Let’s do it again.”