Then we learned about another abbreviation. One you don't expect to see at the store. I rounded he corner and saw a crowd of people who worked there. I assumed it was a bit of a meeting about a display, but then a movement caught my eye. Someone was performing CPR. We stepped away from the aisle quickly and said a quick quiet prayer.
I had no idea what to do at that point... Do you leave? Do you shop out of the way? It seemed so odd to do something so mundane while this heroic effort is being attempted. I didn't stand by to watch, but we heard the siren of the approaching ambulance. I heard the defibrillator beeping. I caught a glimpse of the gurney go by, CPR still going. The kids didn't seem to notice much, thankfully.
Some unknown person and their family will be in my thoughts and prayers for the next few days though. And I'll guess that I will always remember, when we are in that spot, how fleeting life is. And how God provides us helpers even in the most unlikely of places.
I suppose we can all learn something at the grocery store.
1 comment:
I had a moment like this once. I drove up onto a car accident just as the cops arrived. The road was so small that I had to turn around and it added another 10 miles to my drive - but I didn't even feel frustrated, more somber than anything else.
One of the drivers in the accident died. There is a sign there asking people to drive safely in remembrance of her. It is a small, back road that people just zoom down. I admit - it's a beautiful drive and nice to go over the prescribed 35 mph. But every time I turn on to that road I am reminded of how perfect the weather was, I was driving to see my then fiance' after a my 8 hour shift, and how some stranger, 20 feet away from me, died.
It may seem silly, but it changed my life. I wasn't a speed demon before, but that simple experience has completely changed me.
I hope the person at the store is okay. I think it is a good thing for us to be reminded of how fragile life really is.
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