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Being a fire service chaplain has been rewarding and heartbreaking. Maybe someday circumstances will change and I'll pick it up again. For now, so long...

NFFF Memorial Weekend Video

Watch a live stream of the NFFF Memorial Weekend right here:
Candlelight Service: Saturday, October 15, 6:15 PM
Memorial Service: Sunday, October 16, 9:30 AM

He Didn't Make It

What do you say to someone that died trying to save you? I was deeply saddened to hear a story of a dad that drowned while saving his three year-old son. What would that boy say to his dad? How would he feel about his dad? How would he live his life?

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," (Romans 5:8).

Bad Santa

Have you ever been given a gift you didn't want? Maybe it was an ugly shirt, a book you'll never read, or a Christmas gift you can't return because you have no receipt and you have no idea where it came from. I was reading in Romans 5:15-17 and noticed the word "gift" was mentioned five times. The apostle Paul was writing about the gracious gift of forgiveness and salvation Jesus Christ offers and contrasting it with the gift of a sinful nature given to all humanity thanks be to Adam (the first man). I got unnerved thinking about being given a gift I didn't want and can't give back. I thought, that's "bad santa." On the flip side, I'm glad I took God's gift and even happier He won't take it back...

Grieving

“What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul,” (Yiddish Proverb). "A merry heart does good like a medicine," (Proverbs 17:22). “Laughter is a loud smile,” (author unknown). The point is, laughter feels good and it helps us do our job. I’ll go ahead and confess, I’ve been known to deface a magazine with random mustaches and crack jokes about “poo.” If you’re a witness to my sophomoric sense of humor, I am both sorry and glad because you probably laughed.

Laughter helps us connect with each other. It mends a broken spirit; however, there comes a point when laughter has done all that it can do to remedy the circumstance. Usually this happens when we’re all alone. It’s at this time when we come face to face with how we hurt. Our culture says to suck “it” up and push it down—stay busy and don’t think about it—especially for men and even more so for firefighters, cops, medics, etc! I want to challenge that notion. Allow yourselves the opportunity to grieve. Likewise, after a time, allow yourself the freedom from grief. Grieving is a process with health being the end result. It’s our body’s way of helping itself. Don’t be a hater! Love yourself by letting your body do its thing.

We have, or will soon, experience grief that doesn’t make sense (i.e. crimes against humanity, a successful fire-rescue, etc). Maybe the person survived a horrific scene and yet we still get all mentally mixed up? It doesn’t make sense right? After all, the person lived! Well, the grief is perfectly normal. Our bodies have a natural ability to empathize with other’s experiences; in fact, there’s a neurological basis for it (our brains actively “feel” other’s pain). To say we’re unaffected is simply not possible. Don’t be surprised if you feel overwhelmed after a scene that “ended well.”

The best things we can do for our career-longevity is to understand, prepare for, and recuperate from the incidents we run on. Think about this holistically (all encompassing). Essentially, we need to be just as prepared for the mental aspects of the job as the mechanical. More on this to come…

I take comfort in Scripture (J). Hear the strength in the words found in Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

For anyone currently struggling, I offer this prayer and video:

Dear LORD, console us in our hour of grief, meet us where we are, and make us laugh. May your strength and love dwell within our hearts and give us peace and courage to do all things needful in the days to come. Amen.