One man, stuck in a horrifying situation, thought he had come to the end of his life, but God had other plans, sending someone his way.
In life, there are risks associated with everything we do. Going outside could result in a sunburn. A car might hit a pedestrian crossing the street. But, as everyone understands, the level of risk increases or decreases depending on the activity.
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Snowboarding is one activity in which injury is a real possibility. Thankfully, for Ian Steger, God had a way to keep him alive after he found himself buried, upside down to his feet in the snow.
In March, Ian had gone snowboarding with several friends on a mountain in Washington State when things went wrong quickly, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
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During his outing with friends, Ian had fallen backward, crashing into a tree in an area he knew well.
“What happened is when we went into the trees, they were so narrow that we all found our own avenues and lanes," Ian told KOMO. "The one I chose happened to be the one that had a big tree well in it, a hole that I fell into.”
A Skier Came Across The Man’s Path and Something Odd Caught His Eye
Ian believed he was about to die. But one man, Francis Zuber, a skier, happened to come across Ian's path and noticed something odd.
"I caught this little, you know, flash of red, out of the corner of my eye," Francis said.
He had spotted Ian's snowboard sticking out of the snow.
"And I knew it was kind of a weird thing to see, ’cause we're out of bounds. I knew something was wrong, you know. I yelled up to him and no response," Francis said.
Francis then got to work, digging frantically to free Ian from the snow. He was finally able to get Ian out from under the snow. Francis had saved Ian's life.
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"You know you're going through something very emotional when you've never said a word to this person that's a stranger and the first thing you do is embrace," Ian said. "I said, you know, ‘You saved a life today. You saved my life.'"
"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." – Philippians 2:4
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h/t: People, KOMO, Canadian Broadcasting Company & YouTube/ABC11
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ABC11