This Is An Emergency

In the past two weeks, I have witnessed three people being hauled into ambulances at separate times. First, on the way to a family reunion as traffic came to a dead stop in the mountains for an hour and a half for a motorcycle accident only about a half a mile ahead. Second, on the very next day as I was hiking, I watched one of my closest friends fall nearly 30 feet from a boulder then airlifted to GMH. And, thirdly, just last night, as I was watching my college football team, one of our players was taken off the field in an ambulance after a nasty tackle. In all these recent emergency situations, one thing grabbed my attention-- the unity of the witnesses.

In the first incident, all ethnicities, ages, and genders got out of their cars to see what was happening. Several made their way closer to see if they could help. They spread news from car to car about what they saw and knew. They called their families to suggest detours. -- Unity in chaos.

When my friend Ben fell, the three other friends whom I was with gathered around him and determined to get him out of the gorge. Strangers, a nurse, a Navy doctor, and two seemingly average guys came off the trails to help in any way they could. Everyone was on alert and of one mind to get Ben to a better area. -- Unity in chaos.

And last night, as one of our players fell hard on the field, the stands were silent and waiting, as if we were straining to hear his heartbeat in reassurance of his safety. Both teams stood praying on the sidelines. The administration gathered to make quick decisions. The EMS huddled around the stretcher near the end zone. We waited until he was on his way to the hospital, and then the game continued as planned. -- Unity in chaos.

Maybe it is simply human epinephrine ("adrenaline") that is kicked into action like a mother giving her life for her child. Maybe it's some leadership in all of us that takes charge and finds the moral thing to do in desperate situations like the heroes of 9-11. Either way, it happens often, and it comes so smoothly and swiftly that it must be natural. So when will this urgent mindset become part of our constant thought as Christians? Eternity is at stake. Lives are on the line. This is an emergency.