Legacy

When the atomic bomb went off in Hiroshima, Japan at the end of World War II, it literally burned shadows into the surfaces that weren't themselves flammable. This picture to the right was taken in the 1960s, nearly twenty years after the dropping of the bomb. The heat was so intense that the shadows created a cool spot, so the impression left stood out from the rest of the carnage in terms of how much it was burned. The people and things who cast the shadows were effectually vaporized, but their shadows remained behind.

This man, without even trying to, shielded the space under him from the heat, and it created a lasting impression on that space, even though he has been gone for over sixty years now. How much more can we do when we intentionally try to leave people with the impact of the gospel?

Leave a legacy.

A Deep Breath

Take a deep breath.

The prisoners were divided into three groups. The fit became slaves. The excessively unfortunate were kept for "medical experimentation." Most were sent to the gas chambers.

They had come packed like cattle in trains. No place to use the restroom. No place to be sick. No place to move the corpses of the people who had fallen over dead on the way. After days of wallowing in their own filth, they entered the camp.

Children were ripped from their mothers' arms. Families were separated. Best friends were separated. Husbands and wives were separated.

They were told they were going to be de-loused. They were going to get a shower.

They piled into the large concrete boxes. The doors slammed shut behind them. Zyklon B pesticide rushed through the vents.

They cried. They screamed. They clamored. The weakest died first. They became the first steps in the staircase of people.

The slaves were sent in to detangle the bodies. They always found them in a neat pyramid.

If you visit Auschwitz today, you can see fingerprints, engraved forever on the solid concrete ceiling.

They literally tried to claw their way out for that one last gasp of air. They climbed on top of each other to stay above the gas, to get that one last gasp of air.

I have bad days. I have really lousy days. I have days when I don't know how I'm going to deal with what's coming. But you know what else I have?

Air.

Take a deep breath.