4:44 Minutes. The Fenway Congregation sings out!
These are solely my views and given gratefully to a city that forever changed me.
One week ago tonight our former home town was grieving the loss of three persons and over one hundred injured after a senseless double-bombing took place at the 4:09 hour mark, just yards away from the finish line at the historic Boston Marathon.
My husband is from the Boston area. I lived there 13 years. Tough and tender, the home of patriot descendents, compassionate people to a fault and expressive ad infinitum. It is not a town that will go quietly into that good night, it will stand up and fight-it's got bite! These are just the facts, and not my opinion.
Ask anyone whose ever lived in Boston. It's a dynamic town filled with every sport, universities, culture, scientific discovery and medical progress, not to mention the quaint towns, conversant populous, beautiful beaches and an hour's drive away from some mountain ranges caressed with the fresh air that can only come from living that far north. It is also the home to the first European settlers, church planters and seminary starters. This is not a commentary on the current spiritual state of Boston, but a tribute to a city that has taught the world something important this week. Graceful resilience.
4:30 Minutes. I saw Neil Diamond in the 1980s - One of the best concerts I ever saw
One of my favorite times of the year was the Boston Marathon. I believe I got to stand on the sidelines at least five, if not six times. At one point, if I'm not mistaken, we stood near where the first bomb went off. Our hearts hurt for our former home townies. We didn't let it keep us from our day's work, but John and I caught the news every morning to stay informed. Until Friday, that is, when we sat glued to the manhunt in Watertown almost all day. A beloved MIT cop was gunned down by the two suspects. Suspect 1 lost his life that night.
A side bar-For anyone not familiar with the running culture, it is a peace-loving, hard working and fun culture. But it is a strong culture, one dedicated to bettering one's health and using running as therapy and personal character building. Who knows, but that those two suspects, had they given themselves to running rather than hatred, what a different story it would have been for them and the city of Boston.
I think the video says it all. Though, spiritually speaking, Bostonians are miles away from the ideas that the missionaries and seminaries established four hundred years ago, the flower still has some bloom. People don't just overnight become persons of true resilience; they become that way because somewhere they were taught and it was passed down through generations. I believe this is so because the Bible once had preeminence in that great city. It's effects still linger though it is slowly being pushed out of New England's consciousness.
Who knows, but that the Bible will make its way back into the Boston psyche one day. God indeed sure loves them according to His Word.
Boston, thanks for all you taught me in my years up there. I am so so thankful to have been a Yankee for thirteen years.
May you sleep well this night after a week of nightmare and heartache, fear and courage, cooperation with authorities and the capture of a well-documented suspect that no more damage be done. You're wide awake now. Thank God. He's there.
P.S.-As if that wasn't news enough, I believe last week was a record-breaker for news. The Boston Marathon Bombing happened on April 15th, not only Patriot's day (the 3rd Monday of each April), but it was also tax day. On Wednesday, April 17th, there was another fatal explosion in West, Texas, outside of Waco. A fertilizer plant exploded in a small community killing at least 14 at last count, and injuring hundreds. Then there were record lows, including here in San Antonio where we should have been pushing 90 since February, yet we've enjoyed 70s with lows into the 40s. There has been severe weather all over the country, and an earthquake in China. The gun control issue, and illegal immigration issues have heated up and taken different turns because of last week's events. And yet, in it all...
May God continue to bless America, and all other countries who put Him first!
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance." -Psalm 33:12
24 Minutes, but well worth the watch. (FYI-Applause is muted)
This post is dedicated to my husband John, who is my best friend, a marathon runner and one who never gives up in the face of adversity, having one of the most handsome smiles I've ever seen! For my family who supported me when I lived up north and my new family I married into, not to mention the Ketchen-Lipson family whom I lived with for four years (hugs to Sarah and Andy, who works at Fenway!), my church family and my co-workers at Folktree, Healthworks, HQ and EG&G (Now PerkinElmer, Corp).
