Jeanne Nutter did not leave her house intending to be a hero, but rather to walk her dog. "I was at the end of my driveway; I saw a young woman who appeared to be in distress," said Nutter, a trained social worker. "She was probably about ten or 12 feet from me saying, 'I need help.' All I knew is, whoever this child is, she's in trouble."

The young woman was Jayme Closs, who’d been reported missing after a gunman killed her parents and abducted her. Not only did she quickly name her captor, but Jayme revealed the location of the nearby cabin and alerted Nutter to her captor’s imminent vehicular arrival.

"She told me that's where she had come from … actually his property touches the back of our land. All of this happened so quickly. So in my mind I'm like, 'Don't take her there. … She needs to be in a safe place. Your cabin isn't safe.'”

Because of Nutter’s quick thinking and decisive action, Closs was able to be reunited with the rest of the family, and police made an arrest for the murders and the abduction. But she credits her CPS child protection training as the primary motivating factor. “Kids need to be safe. Get them safe first, ask questions later.”

Potential preaching angles:

When we’re attentive with God's love, we can become an oasis of safety in a hostile environment. Living as a disciple means keeping our eyes open to the needs of others even when it’s inconvenient.