Sheriff Les Brown was covering an unfamiliar area. He hoped he would have a quiet morning, but suddenly the call came over his radio: “Child choking! Handle Code Three!” Even as he received radio directions, he switched on his red lights and siren and sped off.
To save a few moments Les decided to take a shortcut down the unfinished freeway. Just ahead he knew was the street where he should get off. But could it be! There was no exit—it was, indeed, an unfinished freeway! Les was filled with anguish as he leaped from his car. Between him and his road was a deep, wide ditch and a steep embankment.
“God help me!” prayed Les. “There is no time to get another car here. What am I going to do?” And God did help him.
“What’s the matter, Officer?” Les looked up. There, high above him, a man was sitting on a gigantic earth-mover. He must have been two stories high off the ground.
“Child choking to death! I have to get down there, but there’s no road. If I go around, I’ll never make it!”
“Follow me, Officer—I’ll make you a road!” The big earthmover started down the steep embankment, scattering dirt. The huge scoops on either end were full of dirt. He dumped them into the ditch, and in almost no time there was a road. Right behind, Les followed in his Sheriff’s car. The earthmover lumbered down onto the highway, blocking traffic. Les raced past him with his sirens screaming.
A few short blocks and Les was sprinting for the doorway where the child lived. A terrified mother handed him her baby. It was already blue. Was he too late? “God help me!” Les prayed again.
Everything seemed against sang the baby. Perhaps some feel the same about the salvation of their own souls: It is too difficult! My family opposes me! My friends would laugh! I don’t have time! I would have to give up too much! I’m too bad! I’m too good! I just can’t!
God answered Les’s prayer. Les recalled, “All I remember about the next few seconds was grabbing the baby and automatically carrying out the emergency procedures I had been trained to use. An object flew from the baby’s mouth to the floor. It was a button that had mercifully let a tiny bit of air through. The child screamed, turned red, and flailed his tiny fists. He was angry, but he was very much alive!”
The next day Les drove back to the unfinished freeway to find the earth-mover so he could thank the driver. The driver ran toward him and stammered, “The baby... the....” He stopped, too choked up to speak.
Les reassured him, “The baby is all right—thanks to you—you helped save his life. Man, that was teamwork!”
He gulped, “I... I know. But what I didn’t know then was...” (and he whispered) “That was my son.”
Don’t we have a wonderful, prayer-answering God!
ML-01/18/1981