When I look back, I believe my earliest memory of the sirens of an ambulance came when they were coming to help me. My grandmother and myself, to be precise. I was in the sixth grade and on winter break. We had gone to run some errands and were on our way to my house when we were hit by another vehicle. This propelled us into a tree, and my forehead went through the windshield. (No, I was not wearing my seat belt -- a discussion for a different time.) My grandmother had lacerations and broken ribs. Of course, we weren't sure how bad it was at first, so I believe we were both scared in that moment. The ambulance came, sirens blaring, to take us to the hospital as quickly as possible.
I hadn't thought about this particular incident in quite some time until I was sitting in our yard last weekend. We had gone to watch Landon play soccer (Boy, I love watching him play!) and had come home to bask in the sunlight and work on some of his skills with him. While his dad was coaching him along (and for those of you who know him, you know what I mean..), and I had just sat down to rest for a few minutes.
We live fairly close to the highway and hear and see many vehicles drive by. This day, I noticed the ambulance. It's not uncommon to see both fire trucks and ambulances drive by. Many people are in this city, so odds are, at any given time, there are people needing help. It struck me at that particular moment, that someone needed help.
How often do we notice when those around us need help? Do we even hear the sirens anymore? Are we too caught up in our busy schedules and daily appointments to stop and see those in need? The sirens don't always come in the physical shape of an ambulance. You may hear the siren in someone's voice, or in the things they say. Maybe you see a sudden change in their life and wonder what happened. Sometimes, it can be painful to hear those sirens. Maybe they remind you that sometimes the people who are in need, aren't always reached in time. We don't like to think of the moments that caused us heartache and fear, but someone else is experiencing that right now.
Let's not grow numb to the sirens going off around us, but instead, let us take action and prove to a hurting world that there is One that knows our hurt at the deepest level. Isaiah 53:3-5 says this:
"He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed."
We've all been broken at one point or another and needing the love of Jesus to make us whole again. The sirens are blaring all around us if we'll just take notice.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3