Last night I was going on about my daily life, serving my one day a week in the library at church in case anyone running youth night needed anything. A friend came in trying to locate some electronic equipment for an upcoming activity and mentioned that her husband's plans for the evening had changed drastically. You see, there had been a hostage situation in a nearby county and the gunman was still a threat. She said it so casually, her concern tempered by experience.
Her husband isn't one of the front line police officers, but rather one of those individuals who works for the government in an area that requires him to put his life on hold every time a major emergency arises. Even though I used to work in one of these types of jobs, it still hits me every time something like this happens. Many of us watch the news and forget about the people living it first hand, not just the victims but the emergency responders who perform in so many roles.
We expect our armed forces to keep our country safe, we expect the police and fire departments to protect our communities. We even expect the intelligence community to be practically superhuman in ferreting out the information that will keep evil at bay. What we don't always think about is the training these people go through day in and day out, the mundane tasks that ensure important details will be available when needed, and even those extra hours they put in because of unexpected dangers that arise.
So this morning, I'm reminding myself that there are a lot of people out there worrying about their husbands or wives, sons or daughters, fathers or mothers. They are praying for the safety of these family members to return home safely, whether it's from a hard day on the job or months away at war. Maybe the rest of us can offer up some prayers, too, that peace will rein today and that the Lord will watch over those protecting our freedoms.
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4 comments:
morning traci:
well said. thanks for the reminder. i am grateful for all the heros who keep our country free (past and present). in my prayers, too. if you can, read my blog post on 22sep about my Air Force coworkers who died on the job when the AWACS airplane crashed moments after takeoff. looking at the newspaper after that day became very different for me after that day -- too real, too close to home ... it felt horrible to read the articles about the people who died who i had worked with. i wrote the 22sep post to mark and honor the day of their passing. not to dwell in the negative, but to honor their service and sacrifice and reminder to future folks to learn from the lessons learned.
i like how you write these reflective passages and i get to see them when i wake up before i start off on my day. big day today for me, please pray for my back pain ... to get through all the work day and the extra presentation i am a little nervous and excited about today (see my blog last night).
gotta run. hope your day is a good one, stay warm hon :) kathleen
A wonderful reminder. Thank you.
I have to admit I cry every time I watch the news and hear of another soldier killed. I often don't reflect on the hardships of the other families just by having a loved one in the line of danger both home and abroad. Once again, wonderful post.
I think one of the incidents that hit me the hardest was the day of the Virginia Tech massacre. So much news coverage was devoted to the tragedy there, but the same day a friend who is a local firefighter lost a co-worker in a house fire. It was such a huge loss, and much harder for those at the firehouse and the family to bear with all that happened that day.
Thank you for the great reminder. Something I sometimes forget, even though my dad and brothers have been on our volunteer fire department for years.
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