Column By Douglas Vandergraph
A road that looks familiar in dry weather can become dangerous when water rises. In that moment, the most important neighbor may be the person willing to come when help is needed.
The Gila Herald reported that four people were rescued from floodwaters near Fort Thomas after water rose around North Fort Thomas River Road and U.S. Highway 70 on Oct. 24. It was the kind of emergency that reminds Gila Valley families how quickly ordinary plans can change.
The rescue deserves appreciation for the responders involved. It should also inspire a wider conversation about how we care for people before danger arrives. Local warnings, responsible choices around flooded crossings, and neighbors checking on one another can help keep an emergency from becoming a tragedy.
In Luke 10, Jesus described a wounded traveler whom others passed by. The Samaritan stopped, approached, and provided tangible care. Jesus’ lesson did not ask us to praise brave compassion from afar. It asked us to become people who recognize a neighbor’s needs and respond wisely.
Few of us will perform a swift-water rescue. We can still act on the same principle: share reliable safety information, help a neighbor prepare, check whether an older relative understands a flood warning, and thank emergency personnel for work that most of us hope never to need.
We must also resist the temptation to turn somebody else’s frightening experience into entertainment. Four people caught in rising water are not merely a dramatic headline. They are individuals with loved ones and stories that continue after the rescue.
I am writing from Colorado in response to the Herald’s reporting, not as a witness to the incident.
Water reminds us how vulnerable human beings are. Compassion reminds us how much stronger we can be when no one faces that vulnerability alone.
Douglas Vandergraph is a Christian writer, Bible teacher, podcaster, and digital creator whose work centers on Jesus Christ, Scripture, spiritual growth, practical encouragement, and long-form Bible study. He has built an extensive free Christian library and a YouTube community of approximately 600,000 subscribers, with more than 2,000 videos across his broader body of work. Douglas writes and speaks to help people connect Jesus’ teachings with grief, prayer, forgiveness, perseverance, purpose, hope, and ordinary life.
