Amazing rains flooded basements and drew our attention away from an industrial accident in West, Texas, that leveled half a town and killed 14 people, 11 of them firefighters. A massive earthquake in China’s Sichuan province killed hundreds. But these events were completely overshadowed by two bombs that exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon and the ensuing manhunt for the perpetrators.
As the hunt for the perpetrators of the bombing intensified, the activity of an entire city stopped. Officials asked people to “shelter in place” and people cooperated. Public transportation stopped along with most city facilities, schools, museums, and the “Freedom Trail.” There was a silence, not the quiet of peace, but rather the silence of anxious waiting.
The public was asked to help and at every step, it was the public — people who saw, experienced and reported — that ended the siege of Boston. It was people who responded to victims of the blasts that saved lives. It was people who made the difference; the silence of anxiety relieved by great purpose.
How many in Naperville carried buckets of water out of a neighbor’s basement or helped cut up and remove soaking carpet? How many came together in West, Texas, to care for each other? How many hiked into remote villages in China when roads became impassable to bring aid and comfort?
How many should we celebrate? How many does it take to end the silence of fear by providing aid and comfort?
The spiritually healthy person transforms the silence of fear into the quiet of the heart by changing the things that can be changed and accepting the things that cannot.
Grace and Peace.
