Heading to Heaven!

This article will be posted on the 20^th anniversary of 9/11.  I don’t even have to refer to the event or the year; everyone is well aware of what occurred on “9/11.” 

The attacks hold the unfortunate position as the worst terrorist act in our nation’s history, and perhaps in all of history.  The plane crashes in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania resulted in almost 3,000 people killed, and another 6,000 people injured in the immediate catastrophes. 

Of those who died, 412 (14%) were first responders … men and women who deliberately ran into the turmoil while others were desperately (and understandably!) fleeing away from it.  Those emergency personnel killed in Manhattan broke down into 342 firefighters, 60 police officers, and 10 paramedics.  (en.wikipedia.org)

Unfortunately, the grim toll didn’t end on the day of the attacks; difficulties and deaths continued to accumulate in the years that followed.  Newsday lists a stunning number of 18,000 who have developed cancer from the toxins circulated by Ground Zero.  Yet the hardest hit group of all in the succeeding years were those rescue workers who responded to the crisis at the Twin Towers in the days and weeks after September 11.  According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), nearly 4,000 first responders and survivors on-site during and after the 9/11 attacks, have died.  (www.newsweek.com)

The events of the day were unprecedented, and so was the response by emergency personnel.

“On September 11, the battalion chief of Battalion 1 witnessed American Airlines Flight 11 crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center and immediately radioed a multiple alarm incident.  Over the course of the next three hours, 121 engine companies, 62 ladder companies and 27 fire officers were deployed to the scene.  All off-duty firefighters were recalled—the first time the FDNY had issued a total recall in over 30 years.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Many of those responding firefighters never returned home that night.  75 New York city firehouses had at least one of their firefighters killed that fateful day.  In addition, the FDNY lost its department chief, it’s first deputy commissioner, a marshal, and a chaplain, plus other specialized personnel.

The Twin Towers, unfortunately, proved to be an extreme situation.  However, the risk embraced that day by the first responders was typical of the risk these courageous men and women face each and every day they clock in for work.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, “a total of 1,627 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 54 hours or 163 per year.  There were 135 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2019.  There have been 58,866 assaults against law enforcement officers in 2018, resulting in 18,005 injuries.” (nleomf.org)

As for firefighters perishing in the line of duty, in a typical year, we lose 80-100 nationwide.  The number of injuries incurred are also significant.

Then there are the men and women of our armed forces, who travel around the world to safeguard our freedom and our nation.  They pay a significant price as well.  Frequently they face fierce enemies and great danger as well, but still they show up, knowing full well they might not survive the day. 

Courageous!

Imagine holding a job where every day you worked, you stood a higher risk than most other jobs of not living through the shift.  Of course, this is ultimately true for every single one of us, regardless of our occupation or our activities for the day.  None of us knows when the Lord will call us out of this world.

But there are some jobs where the likelihood of encountering injury or even death is significantly greater.  Soldiers.  Police.  Firemen and women.  First responders.  They courageously show up for work, fully recognizing they don’t know what awaits them that day and fully recognizing they may be facing some extremely dangerous situations, but fully determined to do whatever needs to be done nevertheless.

Courageous!

And behind the scenes are the families; the parents, spouses, children, and siblings of these men and women who put their lives on the line for the rest of us.  They are equally courageous for they also recognize the risks of their loved one’s occupation.

All of us who are not emergency responders owe a debt of gratitude to those who are.  Having been personally tended to by paramedics after my fall, I know firsthand their professionalism and excellent care.  They didn’t know they would be responding to a pastor’s fall that morning, (neither did I, of course!), but they arrived in moments and helped someone who was hurting.  They were a true blessing.

Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for [another]” (John 15:12-13).

Thanks be to God that our Savior was willing to lay down his life for us.  And thanks be to God that there are other people willing to do the same, if necessary.

Courageous, indeed!