Am I My Brother's Keeper?

I don't recall if I've ever shared this with you before? And maybe subconsciously I was a little afraid to. But no more - for we overcome through the power of our testimony!

Not long ago while organizing several hundred print photographs I stumbled upon this image. It is 18 years old and was from the Ramstein Air Show Disaster in Germany. I thought I had given all of my images from this event to the authorities but somehow this one made its way home. It is titled "Am I My Brother's Keeper" and after all of these years it still brings back memories as if it were yesterday.

I won't go into detail as there's so much that happened that day but while I was taking this shot my roommate grabbed me and my other roommate and we started to run as fast as we could. Almost immediately I could feel the heat behind me as the flames from the burning jet fuel began to engulf the area where we were standing. As we felt the heat on our backs getting closer to us we suddenly dove behind a garbage dumpster and hugged the ground. We didn't know if the burning fuel would come over the dumpster, but it was all that was there to cover us.

When we heard the fuel splatter on the dumpster, we got up and witnessed what could only be described as a war zone. Not to be morbid but there were hundreds of people sitting under those canopies engulfed in flames in this image.

On that day my roommate was his brother's keeper - he saved our lives.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because as some of you know I've been really working hard to get my life "back on track." How I got off track I don't know but all I know is I have ended up in a place that I didn't plan on reaching. The only way to describe it is that my life no longer represents me. So, I've had to learn how to exercise my faith in a whole new way to get back to a place where my life represents me.

If you're a frequent reader of my blog then you know that I am often open with my life experiences. I believe that by occasionally sharing my "ups and downs" I can help someone else know that they are not alone, God has not forgotten about them, and they can overcome whatever they are facing in life. That is the spirit of this post as I often have to remind myself of my victories and what God has brought me through. I should have died that day or been severely burned and crippled for life and yet, I wasn't. So, no matter what the enemy says about our lives he's a liar and we have the victory!

Just like David rehearsed his victories before defeating Goliath we should also constantly remind ourselves of what God has done for us. I know that if you change your focus you can change your life.

So, if someone out there is feeling down and defeated be encouraged - the battle is not over and you win!

Thank God for His goodness and focus on what your heart desires and together we will transform our lives into the experiences that best represents us! We are our brother's keepers and I hope this transparent moment encourages someone to never give up, quit or faint!

Have a blessed and empowered day and know that I am praying for you!