It is a big wide world but in our day and age it is getting smaller and smaller all the time. Even here in my little prairie town, I'm connected to and communicate with friends and strangers around the world in real time. I'm connected by the ever present Internet, by the media and maybe strongest of all, by emotion.
Emotion doesn't stop at borders and hope doesn't need a passport. There are images we'll always remember in the places we can touch and there are the images from around the world that touch us.
As I write this trapped miners in Chile are being rescued, pulled one by one through the darkness back to family members and the sunlight. I've watched this story and hoped for their safety since we heard of their situation in August.
I've sat with friends in this part of the world contemplating what they must have been going through as we heard reports the men would be home before Christmas.
Yesterday, as they got ready to put the first person in the tiny rescue capsule, I couldn't hold back the tears. I felt fear, hope and anticipation for these people I did not know and in our living room I held tightly to my husband's hand waiting to see the first embrace between a wife worried on the surface and a husband plucked from the mine.
Tears of joy followed and I was thankful for the opportunity to see these images with my own eyes, not believing these men were fine until I could see their faces on the screen.
The media have done their homework. We know about these men, their talents, their passions, their jobs and their families. They are not only the 33 but each is an individual and a human and the fantastic story unfolding on the television is more captivating than any movie or book.
I don't like television most of the time. I feel it interferes with real life and wastes my time, keeping me from real experiences. I can't stand reality television because it isn't the whole story and the most ridiculous cast members and situations get the most airtime.
Today I'm grateful for the television and the real story being told, a story reaching me, touching my heart from far, far away. It is a story inspiring me to be grateful, to have faith and it is reminding me that sometimes when we hope for something we aren't disappointed.
