On Saturday, July 8, a human drama unfolded in Panama City, Florida, which captured the attention of the world. Even landlocked Wyomingites are learning about riptides and boogie boards. All because a couple at dinner saw a problem and acted.

The Ursrey family went to the beach for the afternoon. After a swim with her sons, the mother, Roberta, waded out of the water to continue watching them from the beach. 

But when she turned around, they were not where she had left them. Instead they were farther out — much farther out. She walked along the beach trying to get their attention. That’s when she heard their screams. They were caught in a riptide, a current formed by wave patterns that flows as strong as a mountain river away from shore and out to sea. 

Ignoring the warnings of other beachgoers, she and her family entered the current to save them from drowning. But the current was too strong even for the adults. Soon nine people were trapped in 15 feet of water, unable to get back to shore.

An on-duty policeman also headed into the water but quickly turned back calling for a rescue boat instead. Seconds counted, but minutes were passing. That’s when Jessica and Derek Simmons got involved.

They had come to have a relaxing dinner at the beach. After swimming to the sandbar, Jessica noticed flashing lights on the boardwalk. Then she saw that everyone was intently looking and pointing to the same spot in the water. Guessing that they were pointing to a shark, she made her way ashore to where her husband was.

That’s when they both realized that someone was drowning. Quickly they started organizing a human chain. By the time 50 people had linked arms out into the surf, Jessica grabbed a discarded boogie board she had found, and started swimming to the Ursrey family. Derek followed on a surfboard.

Before long more than 70 strangers were acting as one. They formed a human chain reaching 100 yards out to sea. By that time, Jessica and Derek reached the stranded party and started ferrying them one by one to the waiting hands of the outstretched chain.

When all was said and done, nine people were rescued. None lost their lives. Even Roberta’s mother, who suffered a massive heart attack during the ordeal, made it to shore safely and is now recovering in the hospital. 

An event that could easily have ended in the tragic loss of an entire family instead became a story worth celebrating. As I think about this story, several features stand out. First of all, I think about the power of family.

Recall that when Roberta first saw her children in the riptide, everyone discouraged her from going after them. It was unreasonable, against the odds, foolhardy and dangerous. Of course, they were right. On every logical level, it would be futile to go after them. Why risk the loss of one more life if the chances of saving the boys are almost nil?

Why? Because that’s what parents do. They don’t count the cost or calculate the odds. They just act from a place of love so deep that even they cannot explain it. This irrational, crazy love is naturally fostered in the sacred bonds of family. 

Others on that beach were not willing to drown in an attempt to save two boys. Even a police officer, who had a sworn duty to serve and protect, decided to turn back once he realized the power of the riptide. But their mother and father would stop at nothing.

That’s not an indictment of anybody on the beach, not even the policeman. I don’t mean to criticize anybody who sized up the situation and decided it would be futile to risk their own life. 

I only want to take the opportunity to reiterate the point of last week’s column: nobody — nobody — is a better or more tenacious advocate for life than parents. That’s just the way it is. God made us that way, and everybody benefits when we recognize this fact and encourage families to be families.

Kids, remember this when you are upset and feuding with your parents. Friends, mentors, and peer groups will come and go, but nobody will ever love you more than your parents. Ever.

Parents, remember this when you think of your kids. You have been given a job that nobody else is capable of doing. Even the best, most dedicated and brightest care-givers in the world simply do not have the same instinctual love toward your kids that you do. 

Citizens, remember this when you are thinking about the role of government in our society. Whether we are talking about education, health care, crime control or anything else, the more power we keep in the hands of the home and family, the more we are supporting the lives of all human beings.

The second aspect of this story that merits some comment is the spontaneous organization of the human chain that effected the ultimate rescue.

This, too, started with a family, and a Christian one, at that. During interviews with reporters, Jessica said that she originally intended to give the boogie board to her godchildren, and on her Facebook page, she spoke openly of God’s help and blessing. 

So, a married couple with other family members, who just happened to be there, acted when everyone else was only staring and pointing. I don’t want to overstate this. Obviously, anybody could have been motivated to do what Jessica and Derek did. But the fact remains that scores of people did not act when they did.

What they did was not only to form a human chain but to foment a chain reaction. Derek and his niece started gathering people and holding hands to stretch into the surf. From the humble beginnings of five people joining hands to help, they gave hope and purpose to everybody looking on. Suddenly five turned to 15 and 15 into 50.

This is often the way great things are done. It doesn’t require the whole plan to be worked out, and all the pieces to be in place. It just requires one or two people to show the way. That’s only human. Very often people who sincerely care about our world take no action simply because they don’t know what action to take.

We should not be quick to accuse anybody of laziness, or cold-heartedness, or any other vice. Rather, it could be just as simple as taking up the task yourself which points to a hope that others had not seen. Hope itself has an incredible capacity to encourage us to act and give us direction.

In the aftermath of the story, Mrs. Ursrey bubbled over with praise for her rescuers and joy that she did not lose her family to such a horrible tragedy. Her entire life was changed by the quick thinking of Jessica and Derek, which triggered an entire community of rescuers to mobilize in mere minutes.

The Ursrey family had their lives changed that day. But so did everyone else on that beach. No one is ever the same after they have been a part of such an event. To feel the human spirit rise to the occasion is a joy to behold. It changes our lives and whets our appetite for more. 

So, keep your eyes on the lookout for people in need of rescue. You will never regret it.