Saturday, August 8, 2009

Worthy Walking

" I urge you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love."

We had an unexpected treat this morning. After vacating the house so that it could be shown to another potential buyer, we went for donuts noticed that the local Office Depot was hosting a public safety fair. The boys had a blast climbing into and over every vehicle in the lot, and the sherriff's deputies, paramedics, nurses, and firemen were gracious and professional as they shared the tools of their noble calling with us.

Our first ride was on this cool "tank." There were a bunch of lawn tractors and this Trekker, too. They got on nearly every one of them!


While we were there, we got word that the local Life Flite helicopter was about to land. We sat on the grass and waited with about 20 other folks. They were right when they said the blades would whip up a lot of debris, but wow! It was worth the pain! Lori and I both commented that we had never been so close to a helicopter of any kind.



We had to wait a few minutes while the blades slowed down, then we got to meet the crew and look inside.




Volunteers from the Sherriff's mounted deputies were there. They told us about training their horses for search and rescue, and then they let the boys pose on their motorized mounts.



Can you see the look on the face of the old dude in the driver's seat? He was thoroughly enjoying locking up these two yahoos. When we were done, the boys couldn't figure out why they couldn't open the door...




We have a couple of friends in our local fire department. They were not here today, but these guys were super. We are so impressed and blessed by all of these folks who take a daily, calculated risk to help the rest of us. They showed us the storage area for 1000 feet of 5" hose and told us all about the tools stored in and around the truck. The boys sat in the cab later.



This was priceless! Do you see how embarrassed Ramzy is? When we got in the ambulance, Christian decided to tell the paramedic all about our ride in an ambulance in Mississippi when I "trashed" our old van. Ramzy was mortified!


What a great morning we had! When we left there at 11:30 am, the temperature was already pushing 95, with high humidity. Dressed in shorts and t-shirts, we were exhausted and ready for a cool drink. I couldn't help but think about all of those public servants, dressed in full uniform, ready at a moment's notice to respond to "the call." In fact, while we were still there, the helicopter was summoned to an accident on I-70, just a few miles from where we were.
I don't know anything about the personal lives of the folks who were there today, and I'm sure some of them have colorful lives. But those we met showed themselves to be "worthy" of their calling. Well-trained, thoughtful, responsive, kind. I hope that as a display for the Lord, I show myself to be such a worthy servant.

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