On a beautiful afternoon in October of 2024, Kahiau Kawai and his high school kayaking team hit the waters off the coast of Oahu. It was a great day; until it was not! Around 4 pm, a storm began to roll in and everyone headed for shore. It was then that they realized that Kahiau was missing. At 6:30 pm, 911 call went out and soon search and rescue helicopters and boats were searching the ocean for the 17-year-old.
Darkness fell and there was still no trace of the boy. Others joined in, fearing the worst. Surviving in the open sea is hard enough when one is well-equipped. It is another thing in a storm without a life jacket. Kahiau’s family gathered and began to talk about his funeral.
Finally, at 4 am, after searching for more than eight hours, a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft spotted the boy’s kayak and dropped a flare at the location. Rescue boats rushed to the scene. When they arrived, they not only found the kayak, but Kahiau clinging to the side of it. After being in the water for nearly 12 hours, Kahiau was taken to a nearby hospital. He had hypothermia, but considering what he had been through, he was in remarkable condition.
If you Google his name, you likely come across a picture of Kahiau and his mom. It was taken when she got to the hospital. It was taken after she got her boy back. The first time I saw that picture I thought, “Every day from now on will be different for them. Every Christmas and every birthday will feel like a gift because her boy was saved!”
Our spiritual salvation story ought to work the same way. It should never become something that happened long ago having little to no effect on us now. Rather, it should change how we see every day and everything that happens to us. It should be the lens through which we view the world, and that lens ought to help us see better.
Salvation, when it is real, cannot be forgotten. Rather, it must be held onto and cherished.
As the Father in Jesus’ famous parable observed, “We had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).
We must learn to celebrate too!
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