72 Degrees

Tommy Lane, West Central Arkansas T.R.A.C. 

Last summer, volunteers from T.R.A.C. picked up Dom from a group home on Thursday afternoon so he could go to camp. Dom immediately told one of the other campers in the van he was an atheist. He wanted nothing to do with God. The only reason Dom came to camp was to swim.  

While the other campers played games that evening, Dom sat by himself. He looked like a shell of a young man, the weight of worry on his shoulders. His parents’ rights would be terminated upon his return from camp.  

The next day Dom immediately asked about swimming. Sitting on a mountain in West Central Arkansas, the weather can be cool, even for early June. The daytime temps were barely making the 70’s, and the outdoor pool had just been filled the day before. 

If Dom was one of my kids, I’d let him turn blue and then tell him to get out of the water, but many of these young men were wards of the state. I had to keep them safe. The World Health Organization recommended 72 degrees Fahrenheit as the safest temperature for swimming, so as the T.R.A.C director, I had to be the bad guy. There was no way in the world the water temperature would get that high. 

“I’m sorry, Dom, but unless the water reaches 72 degrees, I can’t let you swim.” 

He wasn’t happy, but later that afternoon, Dom asked me, “Mr. Tommy, if the water reaches 72 degrees, we’re swimming, right?” 

“Yes,” I promised. 

Dom looked me dead in the eyes and asked, “What about this God of yours? Can he warm up the water?” 

I didn’t flinch, even though I didn’t have the faith to believe in a miracle. I knew the correct answer—regardless of the size of my faith. “Yes,” I answered. “God can, and He will.”  

Later that night, the temperature dipped to 63 degrees. Dom dropped his head in disappointment. “Can I pray that this water will warm up?”  

As soon as the words left his mouth, I knew we were going to swim. No way God would drop the ball on this request. 

Every hour the next day, Dom checked in with the facilities director. “What’s the temperature, Nick?” 

Slowly, the temperature in the pool rose . . . 68 . . . 70 . . . 71 . . . I couldn’t believe my eyes when the thermometer reached 73 degrees, especially when the ambient temperature never reached that high. 

Never was a sound so sweet as the collective shout that rang out from Dom and the other campers. They could swim! 

I thanked Dom for increasing my faith. 

Fast forward to this summer. We didn’t know where Dom was for months, but then we connected with him. Dom wanted to come to camp. 

The former atheist showed up with a monogrammed Bible big enough to choke a mule. He took notes at CrossTalk and prayed for people.  

Do not take the small things for granted.  

Trust God with these kids. That’s all you have to do. Trust God.