This past weekend the LHCS volleyball teams travelled to Bowmanville for a tournament. One of the boys’ teams placed 1st in their division and one of the girls’ teams placed 2nd in theirs. A great effort and result for both of them. I finished the weekend with a real sense of pride in our students, in how they played, the effort they exhibited, as well as the sportsmanship they displayed. But to be honest, my pride in them was already bursting before we even arrived at the tournament.
Not even 45 minutes into our trip, traffic slowed down to a mere crawl and then a complete stop. We quickly came to the conclusion that there was likely an accident, and it appeared to only be half a dozen cars or so in front of us. Traffic was completely stopped. My van full of Gr. 7/8 girls discussed the strong possibility that someone just a short distance from us was likely very hurt. They decided that this person/persons needed to be prayed for. With no adult intervention, the girls held hands in the van and each one took a turn praying for the accident victims, for their families, for the people who were on the scene helping them, and for the doctors/nurses that would help them at the hospital.
We continued to wait, the air-ambulance arrived, landed on the highway, and a while later took off again with its passenger secured. Again the girls broke into a prayer, praying once again for the victim/victims and all involved. One of the lanes finally opened up and we were allowed to pass by the accident site and continue on our way to Bowmanville. When we arrived at the meeting place, only two other vehicles had arrived we discovered that Barry H. (dad and coach of the boy’s team) had been one of the first on the scene of the accident, administering first aid to the single victim of the accident. The thought that the girls were praying for Mr. H. as he helped the victim, without knowing it was Mr. H. they were praying for, still gives me goosebumps.
Not once did the girls complain about the length of time we were stuck waiting on the highway, nor that they would likely miss the first part of the tournament. Instead their empathy and faith moved them to pray. What they exhibited was exactly our prayer for all our students.
I just thought I’d share their story, as my pride in them is still bursting. Most of the girls were on a team which didn’t win any games, but as far as I’m concerned they won big with their faithful gesture in the middle of Hwy 401, last Friday afternoon.
Krista (LHCS parent)