Monday; January 8

Twenty-two years ago, four country mice from South Dakota found themselves in New York City. Four months after the attacks on the World Trade Center it was our turn to help members of the New York City Police Department deal with the trauma. As I think back on that experience, I would have done anything within my power to avert having to do it – but I wouldn’t take anything for the experience. The week we spent working with these heroes changed me in ways I can’t describe. While there are a lot of lessons I took away from this experience, one of the ones that has stayed with me the most is what can happen when you have a willingness to try to make a difference. Here we were from a small town, with a limited experience of dealing with trauma (and no real expertise with mass casualty events – especially of this magnitude); but we went anyway. From that moment on, I realized that one of the most important elements anyone can bring into crises is just a willingness to be there when people need us.

Centuries before the bombing in New York, the Apostle Paul challenged believers, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). I find it interesting that Paul puts less emphasis on talent than on desire to help. We must not wait until we are fully prepared to help people – because we’ll probably never completely get there. Let’s be willing to go … chances are, we’ll figure out what we can do when we get there.

Think About It!

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