Several years ago a story was reported of a father that took his elementary-aged son and daughter fishing on the Tombigbee Intercoastal Waterway in south Alabama. They had been fishing many times together, and the father had taught his children all of the intricacies of fishing as well as boat safety. They had discussed several times what to do if trouble ever found them. On this day, it did.

As was his custom, the father and his children put their boat in at a landing and began to make their way out of the small tributary into the river. The Tombigbee Waterway is used by numerous industries for transporting products, so there are always huge barges and tugboats on the Waterway. With the father sitting at the steering wheel and his son and daughter sitting behind him, they began to dodge the floating logs and trash as well as other boats. And then the unthinkable…

Their small boat was no match for the wake thrown by a passing barge. The father shouted over his shoulder for his kids to hold on, and the boat began to be tossed violently back and forth, with large logs and trash smashing into the sides. After what seemed like an eternity, their boat found calm water. The Dad looked back to his right to make sure his son was OK. He was shaken but fine. The Dad then turned and looked back to his left.

His little girl was not in the boat.

The Dad saw her life vest floating away and frantically began to scream his daughter’s name and search the muddy water for any sign of his little girl. Nothing. In the madness of the moment, it occurred to the father that if his little girl were tossed out of the boat, she would have fallen in near the outboard motor of the boat. In the split second that thought ran through his mind, the motor suddenly shut off. The father’s heart dropped: his little girl had fallen into the propeller. The Dad rushed to the back of the boat and looked down into the water behind the motor, expecting an unimaginably horrific view of blood and torn flesh.

What he saw was his little girl’s face…just below the surface of the water…smiling up at him.

The sweatshirt she had on was entangled in the prop, and she couldn’t surface. The Dad turned to his son to ask him to hand him a knife so he could cut her loose. When he turned, his son was holding the knife he wanted, knowingly extending it to him before he even asked. The father quickly cut his daughter loose from the motor and pulled her into the boat. He held her and understandably wept. Apart from a messed up sweatshirt, she did not have as much as a scratch.

When he finally regained his composure, the Dad asked his daughter how she could be smiling when she was under the water in such a desperate situation. Her response?

“You taught us what to do in case of trouble. I knew you would come and get me. I had nothing to be afraid of.”

Knowing what lies ahead diminishes our potential of being thrown off. It enables us to be prepared. Preparation enables us to respond correctly in the midst of the chaos. Knowing what awaits us enables us to remain in control and not be swept away by intimidation and fear. It fuels courage.

Sarah Bayot is the founder and owner of Kicheko Goods, a socially conscious jewelry brand based in Washington, DC.

Kicheko sends one child to school for every piece of jewelry purchased. Kicheko’s first education partner is with Mango Tree, a primary school in the DR of Congo committed to values-based education and gender equity.

In 2015 and 2016, Kicheko partnered with TOMS designing exclusive product for their holiday and spring marketplace collections. Kicheko’s work has been featured in Darling Magazine, Washingtonian, Washington Post, DC Modern Luxury, Brightest Young Things, and Northern Virginia Magazine.

A native of New Jersey with global volunteer experience in Costa Rica, DR Congo, Morocco, Scotland and Uganda, Sarah and her husband consider themselves lucky to call DC home for the last 14 years.

INFLUNSR defines courage as choosing love over fear. Read Philippians 4:4-9. Write it on a card and place it somewhere visible. Journal your thoughts about this idea:

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

How does peace make you courageous?

Would you say you have peace?

How do you get peace?