Like many folks around the world, my heart has been in that cave in Thailand keeping watch over those young soccer players and their coach.
The drama of the rescue, with all its euphoric peaks and anxious lows, has gripped the world, prompting experts from all over to weigh in on possible extraction methods that would minimize risk to the boys. Authorities for days have been stalling on a firm decision on the best way to extract the boys and their coach. Efforts to drill down from the top of the mountain have been unsuccessful. Impending rains make that option less viable anyway, as it would take too long.
While water levels in the cave were the lowest they had been throughout this mission, and the first few chambers the group had to pass through – all of which were flooded days ago – were dry, and oxygen levels were stabilized following fears that the chamber the group was in was filling with carbon dioxide from members of the large rescue operation, it was thought these conditions were unlikely to hold up, as rains fell almost relentlessly.
Before the rescue attempt was announced on Sunday morning, ambulances were seen zipping up a muddy pathway to take their stations. Officials moved the large media contingent away from the rescue site to make way for those working directly on the extraction. According to information released by the Thai government, four boys have been brought to safety. The boys were each attached to a diver, with another positioned behind them, as they made their way through the dark, murky waters that have clogged the cave’s passageways. Each boy was fitted with a face mask connected to a compressed air tank. At especially narrow parts of the cave, the tanks had to be released from their backs and rolled through.
The divers on the international team assisting the effort are from the United States, Australia, China, and Europe. At the present time, four boys are out safely. Our prayers continue for the safe return of all the boys and their coach, and the safety of the rescue teams.
There are sacred moments of time when we come together as a human family, beyond the differences that would usually divide us. I remember the story of the little girl looking at a world globe and asking “Who drew all the lines separating the people of the world?” We smile at such a question, but it touches our hearts just the same.
Do you remember the song “We Are the World?” The charity single originally recorded by the supergroup , United Support of Artists for Africa in l985, was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie The song topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling American pop single in history. “We Are the World” raised over $63 million for humanitarian aid in Africa and the US.
I was teaching elementary school in Kentucky and well remember the Elementary Chorus leading the student body in the singing of the song, and in that moment, everything seemed possible! Remember the words?
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a chance we’re taking
We’re taking our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a brighter day
Just you and me.
There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, and it’s time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can’t go on
Pretending day-by-day
That someone, somewhere soon makes a change
We’re all a part of God’s great big family
And the truth, you know, love is all we need.
Continuing to pray for the safe return of each one from that cave; giving thanks for those sacred moments when we realize “we are the world…..a part of God’s great big family” ; and for those streams of mercy, never ceasing, carrying us on toward a new day of hope and possibility.
Elizabeth
Last week, a good friend gave me a copy of The President is Missing, a book filled “with details only a president could know, and the kind of suspense only James Patterson can deliver.” As one troubled by the tone of civil discourse these days and weary of listening to the rancor of partisans on every side of every issue, the last thing I wanted to do was to read a book about it all – even fiction, I thought, would be too close to home for my enjoyment. I’m so grateful to her for encouraging me to read the book. It is a page-turner, hard to put down, and interesting cover to cover!
Toward the very end of the book is a memorable passage to hold in our hearts as we celebrate Fourth of July 2018:
“What does it mean to be an American today? It’s a question that will answer itself if we get back to what’s brought us this far: widening the circle of opportunity, deepening the meaning of freedom, and strengthening bonds of community. Shrinking the definition of “them” and expanding the definition of “us.” Leaving no one behind, left out, looked down on. We must get back to that mission. And do it with both energy and humility, knowing that our time is fleeting and our power is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve more noble and necessary ends. The American dream works when our common humanity matters more than our interesting differences, and when together they create endless possibilities. That’s an America worthy fighting – even dying for. And, more important, it’s an America worth living and working for.” (The President is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, p. 505)
Today’s organ prelude at Jackson Springs Presbyterian Church was “God Bless America,” and the congregation was invited to join in on the reprise. Pride for our beloved nation was palpable in that moment. In a part of the service designated for Fourth of July observance, we read from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
May these words of the morning prayer be the words of our hearts this Independence Day: “Because you are a freedom-loving God, lead us to exercise our freedom responsibly and to pursue ‘liberty and justice for all’ people, without discrimination. Synchronize our motives and our lifestyle with the One who came to make us free, indeed. Amen.”
In the book, the President addresses Congress once the crisis has passed: “Our founders left us an eternal charge: to form a more perfect union. And they left us a government sturdy enough to preserve our liberties and flexible enough to meet the challenges of each new age. Those two gifts have brought us a mighty long way. We must stop taking them for granted, even putting them at risk for fleeting advantage …Thank God we still face a future full of possibilities … May God bless the United States of America and all who call it home. ( p. 508-509, The President is Missing)
Giving thanks for a good book recommended by a good friend, for America, my home sweet home, and for streams of mercy, never ceasing.
Elizabeth
I came across two poems that have been helpful to me in dealing with the loss of a dear friend, and I share them here, hoping they’ll do the same for you in your time of grief and loss.
“Remember”
Remember...
You can shed tears
that I am gone,
or you can smile
because I have lived.
You can close your eyes
and pray that I’ll come back,
or you can open your eyes
and see all that I have left.
Your heart can be empty
because you can’t see me,
or you can be full of
the love we shared.
You can turn your back on
tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for
tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember me
and only that I am gone,
or you can cherish my memory
and let it live on.
Anonymous
“When All That’s Left is Love”
….Love doesn’t die, People do. So, when all that’s left of me is love, give me away….
(from “Epitaph,” by Merrit Malloy)
Giving thanks for all the love shared, and for streams of mercy, never ceasing!
Elizabeth