Saved by Grace

Roy Wilson was the most unpopular kid in the 8th grade. He walked with a brace on his left leg and spoke with a stutter when he was nervous. Roy did, however, have a vivid imagination. He would spend his time in class daydreaming about becoming an astronaut, a famous chef, or whatever his mind could conjure up. This is how he coped with loneliness. The other kids thought Roy was strange, to say the least. But he got used to being invisible because it gave him more time to dream.

It was the last quarter before the end of the school year, and the 8th-grade students were preparing for their end-of-the-year field trip. The teachers took a vote, and the students could choose between the popcorn factory, the local sunflower patch, or the aquarium. The aquarium was chosen unanimously by the children. Roy was less than thrilled to go to the aquarium. He would rather imagine the ocean. In his mind, everything was better. People were nicer, animals were cooler, and he was normal like other kids. Needless to say, he attempted to maintain a positive attitude. So Roy went home and informed his mother about the upcoming field trip.

She smiled and said, "It would be enjoyable."

Roy scoffed, "I bet."

He then retreated to his room to daydream some more. At home, he used his action figure collection to act out his imagination, and he hung all of his doodle drawings from class on his wall like an art gallery.

The weekend had come and gone. Wednesday came even faster. Roy put on his favorite shirt, tightened his leg brace, and mentally prepared himself for the overzealous tour guide. When the bus arrived, everyone had to find a buddy. The teacher paired Roy with the wheelchair kid again, which he didn't mind. Jennifer was a generous soul who always shared her snacks with him. They were the two disabled students in the class, so they did their best to look out for one another.

As expected, the tour guide was hyper, as if he had a handful of jelly beans before coming out to meet the children. He was short and bouncy, with a big personality and an even bigger voice on the megaphone. The students adored him. Roy was irritated, but Jennifer was having a good time.

Roy's class explored Turtle Cove and Manatee Bay. Roy had never seen water that blue in his life. He imagined himself to be a manatee in the tank. He wondered if the manatee, like him, daydreamed. Roy laughed at the thought of manatees fantasizing about going on a field trip and staring at a tank full of 8th graders swimming around eating lettuce. He was also curious about what the fish learned in school. According to the tour guide, fish swim together in a school.

"Do they learn to swim in school? Do they finish the 8th grade?" Roy thought to himself, giggling.

He told Jennifer some of his odd ideas, and she laughed.

"Who knows what the fish think? Why don't you ask one?" Jennifer suggested. "A tour guide just told a group of students that dolphins talk."

"Really?" questioned Roy. "As far as I recall, Mrs. Gerberry didn’t teach that in class. But I wouldn't mind speaking with one. I have a lot of questions. I'd like to ask him if the ocean is anything like what I've imagined or the pictures we've seen in class."

Jennifer responded, "Well, we're about to watch the dolphin show, so ask the tour guide then."

Roy's brain was thinking about something. He had a strategy. He was determined to communicate with a dolphin. Roy was overjoyed just thinking about it.

 While waiting for the show to begin, the students filed into the bleachers in a single line. Roy walked to the side of the stage as the lights dimmed. The stage consisted of a flat black platform on top of a large tank, surrounded by a rock backdrop that looked like it belonged on a beach. Roy spotted a slim ladder on the far left side of the tank to enter the backdrop. He climbed the ladder quietly, slowly dragging his leg to avoid making a noise against the rungs.

The show began, and the divers stood on the platform at the top of the tank, educating the students on the various dolphin species while the dolphins playfully bounced beach balls back and forth. Roy’s classmates were mesmerized.

Roy finally reached the backdrop after climbing up the phony rock near the ladder. He crept along the rocks, unnoticed, but he noticed a bucket of dried shrimp labeled "treats." Thus, he grabbed a handful, figuring they'd come in handy when he met the dolphin. He was approaching the water in the tank. Roy whispered the name Grace, as he had heard one of the divers say. Dolphins had supersonic hearing, according to a book he read at school.

"Grace, Grace," he said quietly. "Nothing occurred. 

 "Grace, Grace," he whispered again, and then a large gray figure appeared below him.

When he saw her fin, he said, "Grace, I have some treats for you; I just want to talk."

He dangled the shrimp over the ledge of the backdrop, and Grace gently grabbed the shrimp. Roy forgot about the conversation because he enjoyed watching Grace swim. She was majestic and peaceful. Every time she swam back to him, he gave her another treat. Suddenly, Roy lost his footing on a slippery rock and fell into the water as he reached over the edge to give Grace his last treat.

Nobody heard him plunge into the water as the crowd applauded the other dolphins performing tricks. Roy attempted to paddle to the surface, but his brace weighed him down. He cried out, and the last air bubble escaped his lungs. His vision faded, and his body died. Roy had to have been sinking for what seemed like an eternity when one of the teachers noticed his body floating to the bottom of the tank.

She screamed, "There's a child in there!"

The divers moved quickly to save the child. By the time the male diver reached the bottom, a gray figure had grabbed Roy by the shirt and dragged him to the surface. The diver, who remained on the platform to call an ambulance, pulled Roy from the water and began CPR immediately. Roy was unresponsive for 7 minutes. Distraught, the diver kept compressing his chest. After 10 minutes, Roy vomited water. Color returned to his skin, and he was able to breathe on his own. The sobbing children cheered.

Jennifer exclaimed, "He's alive!" with tears in her eyes.

The diver said, "Easy, easy kid."

Roy was puzzled. He was drenched and drowsy.

When the ambulance arrived, he was given a blanket. They took his vitals and planned to transport him to the hospital. He inquired of the diver next to him as to what had happened.

"He drowned", she explained, and "Grace the dolphin saved him."

Roy's teacher, while angry, was relieved that he was unharmed.

In the ambulance, Roy instructed his teacher to leave a note for the diver to read to the dolphin, saying, "Thank you, Grace, for saving my life. Love, Roy." Roy's mother waited for the ambulance at the hospital. She dashed to the squad truck upon its arrival.

She hollered, "What were you thinking, Roy?"

"Mamma, I don't know; I just wanted to talk to the dolphins," he softly replied. "I was curious about their imaginations and other cool things. I simply had to know. But I drowned and was saved by Grace the Dolphin."

"Thank God you’re ok. It's a miracle you’re even alive and talking. Please don't scare me again," she wept.

Drowning changed Roy's perspective on life. He no longer felt sorry for himself and was deliberate about being present and loving everyone, no matter what. He stayed bright and optimistic even on his tough days with his peers. Roy's mother was a devout Christian. She believed that God was still blessing people and that miracles happened. Every day, she would tell Roy, "Baby, God saved you for a reason!"

That invisible boy grew into one of the world's most famous marine biologists as time passed. His mother's words rang true in his heart. Eventually, he moved from his hometown and opened an aquarium as well as a charity for disabled youth, encouraging them to achieve the impossible and teaching them that everyone matters. Roy Wilson, now Dr. Wilson, was a marine biologist during the week and a pastor on Sunday. He would stand over his congregation and speak with such compassion, saying,

" I was a miserable person, drowning in grief as a result of my disability. I more often than not wished I hadn't been born. I felt invisible and had grown accustomed to being an outcast, despite the reality that I desperately wanted someone to notice me. I was drowning emotionally until one day I found myself drowning in a 500-foot-deep tank, rescued by a dolphin named Grace. When I saw my mother weeping at the hospital, I realized the importance of life and purpose. That I was here for a specific reason. And, like me, many of you are drowning and in desperate need of a saving Grace. Your life has meaning too, no matter where you're at or what you're going through. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

His message inspired people all over the world. Disabled children were motivated to accomplish their dreams, and the hopeless found the strength to keep going.

Dr. Roy Wilson now has children. Once a year, he would take his older kids to visit the aquarium, which he visited as a teenager. On his most recent visit, he took his five-year-old daughter to the aquarium for the first time by herself. She was elated. Her father educated her on all of her favorite sea creatures. The dolphin exhibit was their final stop. They stood in the bleachers, watching the Dolphins play with beach balls. A nostalgic Roy watched the dolphins swim around. Ava tapped her father’s leg. 

"What is it, Ava?"asked Dr. Wilson, bending down to her level.

Ava whispered in his ear, "Daddy, I thank God for Grace."

Roy, overcome with emotion, took a deep breath and smiled, "Me too, baby girl, me too. Thank you, God, for your saving Grace."