Lee Rigby
On my desk is a picture of a dark haired, trim looking ,almost smiling young man with a red military coat.Braids,a white belt and epaulets adorn his shoulders.On the last day of his life, he walked down a street in London thinking of the groceries he would pick up to take home when his tour at the Army barracks was over.He is a handsome young man whose face shows no scars from his time at war in Afghanistan.He is home in England now so a slight smile greets the photographer;he is safe.
Moments later, a woman on a bus that is turning a corner, sees this man,.Lee Rigby, lying in a heap on the street.In the background are huddled strangers horrified at what they saw and now see. She gets off the bus and goes to him, he who has been slaughtered in seconds by a man with a meat cleaver. Another woman kneels by him, holding his hand as the blood pours from him and the huddled men stare. The woman from the bus took his pulse as a bloody handed man approached her and demanded she leave. She talked to him to calm him and stayed with the man on the ground so he would not die alone. Her name is Ingrid, ,this mother of two.She described why she got off the bus in this way: "I live my life as a Christian. I believe in thinking about others and loving thy neighbor.We all have a duty to look after each other." This scene,these women and their courage defies logic .It was a timeless moment.
I thought of Ingrid today when I read a wonderful quote from St.John of the Cross:...."in a situation where there is no love, you put in love and then love will be there."
1 comment:
This information did not reach me until I read your blog. So beautiful, can hardly write due to the tears streaming. I had a good friend named Ingrid, who died not recently, but it could have been her. She once talked and prayed a would-be rapist into peace and repentance. . . thank you, Garnette
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