First Resonders

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 254:  Today, I am grateful for first responders. 

I usually do a large 9/11 post on this day. You know that this is a gratitude post where I am very intentional about political postings. I ask that any comments respect the heart of that intention. 

Today, I received this verse from Biblegateway.com to start my day:

"I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!" Psalm 121:1-2

Today is a collision of dates for me. 

• It is my Dad's 90th birthday in heaven (12th in heaven). Uncle Bob and Aunt Denise's 49th Anniversary(Love you both). Happy occasions are a reason to celebrate. 
• Pumpkin Festival... our little village's annual celebration of the work done at Libby's/Nestle every year so we can eat pumpkin all year long. It is a special week every year. 
• It is, also, the day we buried my dear friend, Jill. Psalm 121 is a passage she loved and the very one that was read around her bed by her sister-in-love, Donna (Davis) Roth who is now with her in heaven. 
• The assassination of a 31 year old who cared about people's souls and the soul of our country. He believed in a strong moral compass but was always respectful in debate. He listened to what people said and asked questions, listening in response. His young wife and children's lives are forever changed. 
• Patriot Day is a day we should never forget. If you lived through it, it is the Pearl Harbor of our generation... our attack on our soil. Our first responders were the heroes of the day. So were the everyday citizens who stepped in when there were no first responders available. 

I know where my help comes from... the Maker of Heaven and Earth. 

Let us remember Romans 12:15: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." That is love. That is our assignment. 

It is what first responders do every day. They deliver babies on the side of the road. They rescue us from our own poor decisions and from true accidents. They put out fires, dig vehicles out of ditches, and face dangers daily from criminals and domestic disputes. 

On this day... I will not forget. We will pray for a nation that needs healing. We will pause to remember the things that made us different from other nations. We were founded on a moral compass that was rooted in the belief in God. Not perfect and not perfect people, but better than any other place. 

Let our first response be love and compassion, not hate. 

Today, I am grateful for first responders.