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“Let your speech always be with
grace,
seasoned, as it were, with salt."
~ Colossians 4:6
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Not Just a
Word
On
May 7, 2008 Lt. Brian Brennan suffered horrific injuries from a
roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The 44 pounds of explosives tore off his
legs, killed three fellow soldiers, and left him with traumatic brain
injuries.
There
seemed little hope for recovery.
Then,
after three weeks in a coma, Brennan received a special visit. General David
H. Petraeus, Commanding General of Multi-National Force Iraq at
the time, came to the hospital.
Petraeus
had once commanded the 101st Airborne to which Brennan now belonged.
"It was a very, very grim situation; very tough one," said
Petraeus. He gave some of the usual encouragement. "Hang tough,
big guy. Your troopers need you back out there." But nothing
registered.
Brennan's
blue eyes just stared straight back and through the General. He showed
no recognition or response whatsoever.
Petraeus
turned to leave and decided to give one more try. At the door he turned
and called out a single word -- "Currahee" -- an old Cherokee
word from Toccoa Falls, Georgia that also served as the motto for the
famous "Band of Brothers" regiment in the 101st.
Suddenly
Brian Brennan came to life. His body shuffled and straightened. His
stumps started banging up and down on the sheets and his head moved
from side to side.
A
single word broke through the hard shell that had encased Brian Brennan
since the attack. A single word catapulted him to consciousness and
life.
A
month ago, less than a year after the horrific event, Lt. Brian Brennan
delivered an acceptance speech to the New Jersey Hall of Fame before a
crowd of 2000.
A
word changed a life. It still does.
In
the beginning, God spoke and the world was created (Genesis 1). And
even now He takes our words -- gospel words -- and transforms lives and
the world, if we allow Him. It's not the profundity of the words nor
our eloquence, but the Spirit who utilizes even our most feeble
efforts.
We
all know the destructive and harmful potential of words. Perhaps today
we'll wait on Him and trust Him to empower a word from us for the
hurting, the broken, and the spiritually numb. It's not just a word.
In
HOPE –
David
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