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I sat and watched with millions of others last night, fresh from the shower with my new Matt Milano jersey on over my pajamas. We bookended this last bit of Buffalo history with Bills games which seems only appropriate since this is the thing that unites this community the most. The last game, on Christmas Eve, we had a blizzard brewing in our backyards. This game last night, as we hoped would be the calm after the storm, found us with green grass again and temperatures in the 40’s.
In the stormy middle, many people died as a result of the wild blizzard that came through, but also, so many heroes emerged to take care of their neighbors and strangers that knocked on their doors. 40 lives were lost, but I suspect that number could have been much much higher were it not for those that jumped in to help, no matter the risk or cost.
“When life brings you to your knees, if you look a little farther, you will find love.”
I don’t know who wrote that; maybe it was me. I found it scribbled in an old journal I kept just after my mom passed. I assume I saw it somewhere and it landed so I wrote it down, but with me, you just never know. I witnessed so much love in the tragedy that was my mom’s illness and later death and love was definitely the emergent theme.
We all sat last night and watched that horror. That young 24 year old man who collapsed on the football field just after the start of the game. This young man, Damar Hamlin, who as it turns out, appears to have a heart of gold. He raises money to buy Christmas gifts for underserved children in his hometown. His goal was to raise $2,500. As of this morning, over $3.75 million has been raised. This is pure love and the very definition of community.
Damar’s face is attached to a quote all over Facebook today saying “If you get a chance to show some love today, do it! It won’t cost you nothing.”
I wrote in my journal this morning that I didn’t know what to say about this, what to make of this heartbreaking story. I still don’t. But much like the heroes who emerged to take care of their neighbors and strangers during the blizzard last week, I am betting on the power of love and prayer. Our Buffalo community is so used to jumping in to save each other, we are on autopilot now. We don’t have to think what to do next. We hold the good thought, the prayer, we donate money, we lift each other up, and we give it God.
“When life brings you to your knees, if you look a little farther, you will find love.”
The thing that makes me the most hopeful, is that this young man has about half the world praying for him at the same time. I witnessed true miracles occur when a much smaller crew prayed for my mom during her illness. I can only imagine what happens next in this story.
So, life has again brought us to our knees Buffalo. Let’s keep the thought, the prayers, give if you can and keep lifting each other up. As a wise man said, “If you get a chance to show some love today, do it! It won’t cost you nothing.”
Let’s all show some love today in honor of Damar Hamlin.
Knowing that we are all connected, and we all share the same breath...