What does it mean to be safe?

Yesterday there was another bombing... this time in Brussels, Belgium. Soon, messages filled my Facebook page of friends checking in with one another, just to make sure that they weren't too close to the danger.

It seems that every week, or even more often, there is news of another bombing. We call them terror attacks because that is what they are designed to do... instill terror in the victims and interrupt the normal pace of life.

Just in the last three months, there have bombings in cities where I have stood... in Brussels, in Paris, and in Istanbul.  These places have given me the opportunity to learn new history, see amazing art, expand friendships and sometimes most importantly, eat wonderful food. And there have been attacks in the Middle East and Africa, all directed at places where people expect and deserve to be safe. Hundreds have been killed and many more have been injured.

I hope that I will never become immune to the pain that hearing about these tragedies brings to my heart. People that I don't know have been killed and wounded, and my heart aches for the reality that for many, life will never be the same. But I am also determined that these events will not cause me to life my life overwhelmed by fear. I can't think of anything more tragic that living in such a wonderful place and never feeling safe enough to explore all the sights and sounds and tastes that life in the here and now has to offer.

I am struck that these musings have come to me in the middle of Holy Week. As we approach the time of the betrayal of Jesus, his last supper with friends, his arrest, trial and execution, we are reminded that darkness comes, in spite of the goodness that God wants and plans for us. But I also know the rest of the story. Sunday is coming... as promised, darkness does not have the final word, but light and life come with the sunrise and change everything forever... and in ways we never could have ever imagined.

Somehow, all of this is related to the power that Easter has over my life. Fear is such a strong motivator, but it also robs us of the chance to change the world. I think about the people I have met who are so very different from me. Some are Christians, some are not, but each has helped to expand my understanding of what it means to be a friend and a neighbor. They give me hope that not everyone is looking out to harm me or the world around us, and that they will help me and protect me when I have a need for them to do so.

A friend in my village has told me several times about the days following the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. She had not had any contact with the American family living down the street from her family. There were lots of reasons... they spoke little to no German, and she believed her English was not so good... taking that first step toward friendship just seemed hard. But on the evening after, when it felt like there was the possibility of more evil, she and her husband walked down the street and invited this American family to park their car in their garage, in case US vehicles might be targeted for violence and vandalism in the night and days to come.

And it turns out that they weren't the only ones who offered. All over town, German families were parking their cars on the street to open their closed garages to stranger's cars. And in their fear and their grief, friendships were born.

And so back to the original question: What does it mean to be safe? For me, I wonder if that is even the right question anymore.

We have decided that safety does not mean staying home. Everywhere we go, we are cautious and careful and vigilant. We pay attention to crowds and traffic and listen to the advice given on how to travel with the utmost care. We don't draw unnecessary attention to ourselves at home or away - the other day I was unloading groceries and someone asked me for directions to a restaurant nearby and was surprised that I spoke German with an American accent - I consider that a victory!

But we are determined to not bury ourselves in our quiet little village (as wonderful as it is), but to continue to explore the world around us, expending our horizons and taking in all the new experiences we can, as safely as we can.

Never let it be said that I lived life so safely that I didn't take the opportunity to be challenged or grow or be changed by the experiences of a life well-lived.


Peace, Deb

I've added some links to articles which lead me to think I'm not the only one pondering what it means to live in the shadow of terror.

Driving to help others...
http://www.upworthy.com/after-the-brussels-attack-many-opened-their-homes-to-stuck-travelers-she-got-in-her-car?c=ufb1

Just keep living...
http://www.upworthy.com/president-obamas-great-response-to-why-he-went-to-a-baseball-game-after-a-terror-attack