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| Mario Gomez kneels down to pray after being rescued and taken out of the rescue capsule this morning. |
Each rescued miner has said they knew they would be rescued. Oh, not really "knew" but they knew. Not because of how but because of Who. This week, while still trapped underground, Mario said that there weren't 33 miners in that tiny concrete shelter underground — there were 34. Because God was with them. I got goosebumps when I heard that.
His wife confirmed her husband's words just this morning in a CNN interview. But when she was asked whether or not Mario was like this before he entered the mine, she said something surprising — "no." It seems the 70 days spent in the mine had reawakened his Catholic faith, and Mario, the eldest at age 63, had become the spiritual leader of the crew. I guess his younger coworkers saw him as a father figure. The youngest, just 18, may have even seen Mario as a grandfather. At home, Mrs. Gomez said, Mario was always sloughing off her attempts to get him to say his daily prayers or be a more spiritual man. He had faith, but it wasn't very active.
It is now.
I'm reminded of three young Hebrew men who were trapped in a heated mine of their own 2,500 years ago. Shad, Mesh and Abe were thrown into a fiery furnace by the king of Babylon after taking a stand for their faith. It was the ultimate trial, a trial so fierce that even the guards couldn't bear it. But Shad, Mesh and Abe did. Oh, and also the 4th trapped Hebrew — God. He was in the furnace and He was in the mine. And he'll be with you and I wherever our next trial lies.
Sometimes it takes a mine for us to see that.
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