Just the other day...

Just the other day, I witnessed a school bus accident in my hometown. A Head Start bus, packed to the brim with little preschool children, was sideswiped by another car causing it to veer into oncoming traffic. As the driver of the bus swerved to avoid a head on collision, she jerked the vehicle into another lane, causing a car to hit the bus in the side. This resulted in the massive bus rolling over a couple of times.

Immediately, onlookers formed, witnesses gathered, “rubber-neckers” slowed to a crawl, inpatient drivers honked, good Samaritans performed, and chaos ensued. As I got out of my car to assist the school bus driver, it dawned on me that this could have been my child. As I pulled children to safety, and told them to find a friend and hold their hand, I could hear the sounds of emergency vehicles quickly approaching. Once they arrived I stood back and watched as firemen and policemen, some of whom might have possibly been the headliners at these children’s school during their safety talks and fire truck tours, care for these kids as if they were their own.

As parents arrived, the shock of the wreck wore off and the children began to cry out for mommy and daddy. The screams of so many little children could be heard over the hustle and bustle of approaching ambulances, police and fire radios, and the busyness of the city. And for a brief moment I thought, imagine what it must have been like for God. I can only imagine what he must have been thinking when he heard his son cry out to him in pain. There is Jesus, among a crowd of onlookers, witnesses, and the occasional “rubber-necker”, among so much chaos, dying on a cross. Yet, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son…”

A night at the races...

Tonight I saw something that amazed me. I attended a middle school track meet this evening to watch a girl, who I'll refer to as "Katie", run in a District Championship tournament. She had originally thought that she would not be able to run and had expressed for me not to bother with coming to see her. But I'm glad I went.

As the meet began, I saw Katie sitting across the field. She had been labeled as an alternate. In her mind she had been labeled as insufficient and incapable of competing in the events. Essentially, she felt unwanted. As the evening progressed, Katie sat watching each separate event start and finish without her being able to contribute. She cheered for her teammates and yelled when each girl from her team crossed the finish line. Whether they won their race or not, Katie still cheered as if they had won an Olympic Gold Medal. She slowly progressed from an "I just lost my best friend" look to a "team player" look.

The meet was coming to a close when I saw Katie making her way to another part of the track. Could it be? Could she be lining up to race? She was indeed. As she made her way onto the track for a baton relay, I could see that she looked a little different from the start of the meet. She didn't even have the "team player" face. At first, I thought it was nervousness. After all this was not a race that she was familiar with running. It wasn't until the race began and she took the baton that I realized what I saw on her face. It wasn't nervousness or anxiety. What I saw was a most amazing thing. I saw perseverance. As she ran, perseverance took control of her body and led her around the track. Her family and teammates were cheering and all I could do was watch in amazement.

Perseverance is what the writer of Hebrews was describing in chapter 12 when he said to run the race that was marked out. It was this type of perseverance that I witnessed on the face of a 13 year old girl who, when cheered on by such a great cloud of witnesses, finished a race that was unfamiliar to her.

I think the writer of Hebrews truly meant that no matter how uncomfortable we are, or how unfamiliar our surroundings may be, listen to the crowds. If we listen we can hear those who have kept the faith and who, through their faith, cheer us on today. So I'll take my lead from Katie, the "unwanted" alternate, and from the writer of Hebrews. Run with perseverance, never looking back, staying focused on what lies ahead. I can only imagine what a glorious feeling I'll have when I finally reach the finish line.

By the way, Katie's school won first place in the Division.