Life is a matter of inches. Here in America, we saw this tragically displayed this past week in the streets of Boston, the small town of West, Texas, and remotely in the Sichuan province of China where a deadly earthquake claimed the lives of 180 people and injured more than 5,700 others.
Al Pacino’s famous line from his half-time speech in the movie Any Given Sunday repeated over and over in my head as I sat glued to the news reports as last week’s events unfolded in real-time. “The inches we need are everywhere around us” was being played out on every news channel around the globe and in the lives of those affected by these tragic events.
Each day we see examples of how the inches around us can impact lives. A 4.82 second time in the 40 yard dash versus a 4.71 time at the NFL Combine can mean the difference between being selected #32 or #17 in the upcoming NFL draft. A few inches (or seconds) in your finish time in the Boston Marathon or travel time around West, Texas could make the difference between being in the blast zone or not – between life or death. Just ask Joe Berti.
A TV commentator referred to the tragedy in Boston as America’s “new normal”. This is not the first time I’ve heard this reference and each time it makes me bristle a little bit more. Let’s not allow ourselves to remain indifferent to the escalating violence and dismiss these acts of terrorism as anything remotely associated with normal. It is time to put an end to this senseless bloodshed and hatred. The inches we all need to bring about positive change are everywhere around us.
How will you use the inches around you to make a difference and improve the quality of life? This is the question we should all ask ourselves every day. Because let’s face it, there are only so many days and inches available to each of us. Shouldn’t we use the time we have to make the world a better and safer place for all? Life is a matter of inches, choose to use them for good.
Let us continue to pray for the families and those communities affected by last week’s tragic events in Boston, West, Texas, and the earthquake in China. And let us also pray vigilantly for peace and for an end to the violence and wars that plague our world today.
God Bless.
John
COPYRIGHT © 2013 John Carroll