By Kat Silverglate © 2025

“I’d never dialed 911 in my life. I figured it was reserved for plane crashes and car wrecks. But there I was, deep in the woods of North Carolina. I couldn’t find my way out on my once trusty mountain bike. I was lost.”

Spencer Silverglate

He was a 39-year-old trial lawyer in one of the grittiest jurisdictions in the country – Miami. Even in the most genteel of venues, litigators make a life fighting battles others can’t resolve. For better or for worse, litigation demands a relentless tenacity to dig deep, find the strength from who-knows-where, and fight the good fight.

“I got hit with some hard stuff early in life.  Sometimes that makes people stronger. It did for me. It taught me to fight.”

Spencer Silverglate was born to a whip-smart, creative, loving mother and a street-smart, bigger-than-life dad. But they were way older than the then traditional childbearing age – 43 [mom] and 50 [dad].  

“It was like having grandparents for parents, which was great in so many ways. Both my parents were retired by the time I was seven. The downside? They had serious health issues. My mom died when I was 14 and my dad a few weeks after I started college. I think they raised me knowing I’d need to be able to take care of myself. I know they did.”

By 14, he’d buried his mom after watching her endure cancer treatments far-less advanced than current treatments. By 18, he’d buried his dad after watching him endure the amputation of a leg and multiple, far-more-invasive-than-today open-heart surgeries.

Spencer’s response? Not what you might think.

“When you watch people suffer the way my parents did, you have an urge to take care of yourself. I fell in love with health and fitness not so much because I set out to become addicted to it but because I think some people are just knit that way. The craving for health feels like it is built into my personal DNA. My friend Jay Gayoso introduced me to mountain biking when the stress of work was particularly intense. He called it a form of ‘alternative stress.’ It’s stress that requires so much mental and physical energy, it’s impossible to focus on anything but avoiding wrapping your bike around the next tree.”

So, when Spencer got the call in the middle of his family vacation that he’d have to cut his trip short for a work emergency, he strapped his mountain bike on the family car and headed for the trail head at Panther Town looking for some salvation from the crushing stress. He rode into the deep woods but he couldn’t seem to get his mind off the work channel.

“The first time I called the rental cabin, I left a ‘don’t worry honey’ message on the answering machine. As the sun dropped lower on the horizon, my messages got more urgent until finally I realized my cell phone might die before I could reach 911. And that meant I had to admit I was lost. Those are hard words to come by: ‘I’m lost and I need help.’”

Between the 911 crew and family who had joined the rescue efforts with bullhorns and walkie-talkies, the search strategy was simple. Spencer had stumbled on a Duke Energy power tower with a number on the base. He told the team and his family that he would stay there until they found him. When the police sounded a siren and told him to follow the sound, he heard nothing. When the rescuers called out his name from megaphones on the perimeter, he heard nothing. And then, his phone died. Untethered, he bowed his head.

“I removed my gear and sat down next to my bike, and I began to pray. While I was praying, I realized I hadn’t thought about work for several hours. What seemed overwhelming and all encompassing at the start of the ride now seemed irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was survival. An inexplicable calm swept over me. My mind became clear. There was nothing more I could do to save myself.”

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the distant hum of motors hit his ears. Two blinding head light beams moved in his direction like beacons of hope. He heard a voice calling his name, “Spencerrrrrrr.” His response burst out, “here I am!”

The Scriptures say that we are not saved by our own actions or strength. Salvation is a gift from God. He does the rescuing. We are saved by His grace through faith. None of us can boast about our efforts or strength because that’s also His handiwork. Ephesians 2:8-9. Spencer compares his lost in the woods experience to the moment he understood the meaning of grace and became a Christ follower.  

“Until I knew I couldn’t save myself. That I couldn’t do life on my own steam. That anything and everything I did was from God and not from me. Until I could really see that I was a sinner in need of a rescue, I couldn’t comprehend that I needed what Christ had to offer -- salvation. We rest on our strength until we can’t. We think we’re all that until our own attempts fail. Then we realize whatever strength we have; whatever gifts; whatever blessings, they all come from God anyway. Sure, we have human agency. We get to use the things God gives us. But what good is it if our strength cannot save us or sustain us? I think my story is for anybody who is trying to save themselves. For anybody who is afraid to ask for help. Or who thinks they can do life on their own steam. We’re all sinners in need of a Savior. We’re all lost in the woods in need rescue.”

Spencer wondered aloud how exactly the rescue workers planned to port his bike out of the woods. “Get back in the saddle,” they instructed. With one AVT in front of him and one behind lighting the way, he rode out of the woods. It was a “yay, I’m here” moment. Like all of the things of God, it was a call that invited ridiculous responsiveness… participation... relationship… joining in… all-in action… ‘I’m here Lord,’ followed by following and dependence. None of this is passive. All of it is intensely personal and relational.  

Our August Mission:

In your mission pack you have an envelope with the words, Yay, I’m Here on the outside. Inside you will find a blank urgent message sheet. What’s your urgent message? Have you started to rely too much on your own strength? Forgotten who does the rescuing? The finding? The saving? Where are you afraid to ask for help? Where do you need a rescue? Write it on that message pad. Consider mailing it to yourself. When it arrives, look at the sticker on the back… “I’m Here.” If you have breath inside your lungs you have the ability to call out to the Lord, to hear your name and to respond with the words, ‘here I am Lord, thank you for rescuing me.’ Now let’s ride!

Epilogue:

Spencer and I will be celebrating 43 years together this month. He still loves extreme sports and still has a hard time asking for help. Only now, he surrounds himself with friends who love alternative stress and being found in the woods together. And yes, I keep a bullhorn close by, just in case. Spencer Silverglate is the author of Fight the Good Fight, a Battle Plan for Life, available on Amazon.

The Expanded Audible Version of this Story with Spencer's Voice:

If you’d like to hear this story with Spencer’s commentary sprinkled throughout and his final conclusion for anybody who is still feeling lost after looking for God, listen to Episode 68 on our podcast page.