Surviving an Emergency

Today, I was at a basketball game with five of my students. The score was tied, 51 to 51, the crowd was cheering and pounding their feet on the bleachers. All of the sudden, we heard a loud POP and the bleachers under us gave way, crashing to the floor. All around, people were injured and screaming. I saw people with serious bruises, broken bones, & blood all over them. Someone called 9-1-1 and within a few minutes, police, fire department rescuers, and EMS swarmed all over the gym, trying to help the injured. I saw people being placed on back boards and ambulances as far as the eye could see! As I lay there, waiting for EMS to help my severe neck and back pain, I wondered when they would finally get to me. There were cries all around me; I couldn't find my five students. Help seemed to be so close, yet so far away. I was just one of 50 or 60 injuries...would they stop for just me?

Now, this is where I'm going to stop and tell you that today I participated in a mass casualty DRILL at a local high school. What you just read above was only a scenario...don't worry, I'm really just fine and so are the 60 other "victims" from today's exercise. I learned a lot and so did the local rescue workers who were participating in the drill. Our "accident" occurred at 9:00am but I laid on the bleachers until 12:00pm. I was the LAST person in the exercise to be rescued from the gym.

At first, I was pretty mad that I was the last one, rescued three hours after the initial call to 9-1-1. What if this had been an actual emergency? I could have laid their paralyzed for three hours or died from internal injuries! There were very few EMS that checked on my condition. It seemed like there were just too many injuries and other people took priority over me.

All around us, every day, there are people who are doing "okay." They seem to function pretty well and are living average, every day lives. As Christians, we often focus on the people who are dire need. We collect food for the poor. We rush to the aid of hurricane victims or people in third world countries. We even go on mission trips to preach the gospel to people we've never met in far away lands. ALL of these actions and good deeds are amazing and we should continue to do such things. But what about the people all around us who are doing "okay?" Today, I was "okay" but far from "healthy" in our mass casualty drill, but there were not very many people who were willing to help. How many people around you are not "healthy" Christians? God did not call us to lead lives that are merely "okay". We are supposed to be blessed, spirit-led, and living in abundance. Shouldn't we be also rushing to help those who are just doing "okay?"