Roger's Deliverance
by Roger's Friend

Roger was a good swimmer and diver. In fact he was the swimmer instructor at a large college for men.

One night he could not sleep and decided to slip into the swimming pool and have a swim, thinking that the exercise might later put him to sleep.

"I did not put on the lights in the pool," he says, "for I knew every inch of the place, and the roof was made of glass. The moon shone through, throwing the shadow of my body on the wall at the other end, making a perfect cross. I cannot explain why I did not dive at the moment. As I stood looking at the shadow of the cross, I began to think of the Cross of Christ and its meaning. I was not a Christian, but I found myself repeating the words of a hymn I had learned as a boy.

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to do us good,
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.

"I cannot say how long I stood poised on the diving board, or why I did not dive. I came down from the board and walked along the pool to the steps that I knew led to the bottom of the pool and began to descend. I reached the bottom and my feet touched the cold, smooth floor of the pool. The night before, the caretaker had drained the pool dry, and I knew nothing about it. I realized then that had I dive, I would have dived to my death.