“Sound of Freedom” and Memories of Dodging a Bullet

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare … – Psalm 91:3a

A few weeks ago, I posted some stories about times in our lives when the Lord has rescued us (mostly Marty) from situations that could have been dire.

Where Marty Was (“Don’t Judge Me!” Part 6, Continued)

Recently Marty and I went to see a movie that brought back memories of another “dodged a bullet” that occurred in that season when we were young and naive.

“Sound of Freedom” is a film about child trafficking. (It’s excellent, by the way. Do see it, if you haven’t already.) A scene depicted in one part of the film brought back disturbing thoughts related to one of our sailing trips, although we had not realized at the time the danger we were in, or what was happening very close by.

[Flashback about 48 years.] Early in our marriage, Marty was earning his PhD with a lab assistantship – getting paid to go to school! – while I was finishing up my bachelor’s degree. With the university calendar, we had the luxury of being able to go to Michigan in the summer for a couple of weeks of vacation at the lake. As in our teenaged years, sailing was a big part of that place both for us and for my cousins, Tom, Owen, and Larry, who were also life-long “summer people.” We fancied ourselves to be “hardy old salts,” although most of our sailing adventures consisted of racing little Sunfish sailboats around Portage Lake, and slightly larger boats, which we would occasionally take out the channel onto “the Big Lake” (Lake Michigan). On rare occasions we would sail up the coast, camping out on the beaches along the way.

One of the more memorable trips was when we sailed all the way to Beaver Island in two Catalinas – Marty and I in his dad’s with our dog Radar, and the cousins in my uncle’s. A steady wind was out of the north the whole week, so sailing north involved a lot of tacking and making little headway. (It took us nearly a week to sail to Beaver Island but just 24 hours to get blown back home.)

We had some interesting minor episodes along the way, but the most memorable was when we had stopped and set up camp on North Fox Island. After sailing most of the day, we were hungry and tired and glad to be settling down for the night.

But as we finished pitching our tents, two strangers approached us. These men did not look like tourists, and they did not appear happy to have company. We were informed that we were on private property, and we would have to leave.

“Oh, sorry!” said one of my cousins.

“We’ll leave first thing in the morning,” another promised agreeably.

“You’ll leave NOW,” one of the men stated firmly.

We noticed these men were armed, so that was the end of the discussion. As tired as we were, we broke camp, loaded up the boats, and backtracked to South Fox Island.

As we looked back on that trip, the encounter with the armed and unfriendly strangers seemed like just a momentary scare. That is, until the day Marty read a grim story in the news.

We read that North Fox Island had been owned by a Grosse Pointe multimillionaire whose “youth camp” had turned out to be a pedophile and child porn haven. In reading the article and comparing dates, we realized that the evening we were on the island, there were probably young boys close by having unspeakable things done to them. According to the article, there were also several unsolved murders and missing children that some speculated to be connected with that pedophile ring. (I don’t care to go into detail here, but if you google “Fox Island Pedophile,” you’ll find more information than you ever want to know.)

To this day Marty and I wish we had known and could have done something, but we couldn’t report what we hadn’t seen. And, if we had in fact known, and if those men had discerned that we knew, we might not have made it off the island alive.

As I look back on the full picture, I realize once again how the Lord has always protected us. And no, I don’t know why He didn’t protect those boys in the same way. He certainly doesn’t love them any less than He loves us. It’s something that breaks my heart, and that I will probably never understand this side of heaven. But I do know that

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. – Luke 12:48

I am taking that sobering verse to heart.

Prayer: Lord, I know I don’t deserve the mercy You have shown me. You have shielded me from many evils in this depraved world that I’m aware of, and probably countless others that I don’t realize. It makes me want to make every moment of my life – the life You have preserved these seven decades – be used to honor You and to bless the people You love so dearly. As You have shielded me from harm, shield me also from the temptations and distractions that would keep me from being all You want me to be and doing all You want me to do, in Jesus’ name, amen.

P.S. Today there are some things people like us can do to help in the fight against child trafficking. Tim Ballard’s organization, Operation Underground Railroad, is just one group that is rescuing young victims of traffickers and other predators. Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse is another. And there are more. If you do a search, you will find numerous organizations working to end this horrible practice, which you can support with your financial gifts and especially your prayers.