Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Look Up, Way Up!

Did you see the space station fly overhead last Tuesday night? It was really cool! It was a gorgeous night; not a cloud in the sky, a zillion stars overhead and right on cue, the International space station arrived chasing the shuttle across the evening sky.

As Angela, Ruth and I stood staring up at the night sky, marvelling at the sight, a teenager came shuffling up the road, hoodie up, eyes down and ipod turned up. Wanting to share the experience, I pointed into the sky and shouted, "look the space station!"

The kid lifted his head and looked at me like I was a doddering old fool and I am by no means doddering and then resumed staring at the ground and kept right on shuffling.

I thought: how often are we so consumed with the ordinary, that we can't lift our eyes to heaven? I'm assuming, that whatever the kid was listening to could have been paused and he would have been rewarded with a sight that he might never see again. His loss, but what do we miss while we are plugged into work or worry or whatever and don't take the time to hit pause?

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

    

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Save a Life. . . or Two

Penn of Denn

Did you hear about the homeless man in Winnipeg, who jumped into the Red River and saved a drowning victim? Twice! It seems that Faron Hall was on the riverbank last week, when 19 year old Tara Beardy began to struggle with the current after diving into the eight metre deep water. The woman's cousin, who was unable to swim, realized that she was in trouble and tried to rescue her, but drowned in the attempt. Although Hall was able to rescue Beardy, he wasn't able to save 32 year old Chris Harper.
It was just this past May, that Hall was involved in a similar incident and was honoured by Mayor Sam Katz after saving a drowning teen. On hearing about the most recent incident, the mayor commented, "To save one person in your lifetime would be a remarkable thing to do, to do it twice within the period of a few months, that's just ... what can you say?"

You may never be able to save someone from drowning, but every one of us, as Christ Followers, has multiple opportunities to plunge in the river of everyday life and save someone's eternal life, if only we are willing. Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.