NO ONE HAS TO NOTICE

NO ONE HAS TO NOTICE

We live in a society that, for so many, visibility is everything.  Self-promotion becomes the inevitable destination of those who harbor feelings of insecurity or inferiority.  I pause today to applaud the silent and unsung heroes that are all around us.  Their names are seldom called, and they tend at times to feel unnoticed or unappreciated.  But what they say and do does matter, both in time and eternity.

Thanks to the celebrated poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, most people have heard of the “midnight ride of Paul Revere.”  But few have heard of Israel Bissel, a humble post rider on the Boston-New York route, a bona fide yet unsung hero of the American Revolutionary War.

After the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Bissel was ordered to raise the alarm in New Haven, Connecticut (the city where my family now resides).  He reached Worchester, Massachusetts, which was normally a day’s ride, in just two hours.  There, according to tradition, his horse promptly dropped dead from the strenuous ride.  Pausing only to get another mount, Bissel pressed on and by April 22 he arrived in New Haven--but he didn’t stop there.  He rode on to New York, arriving April 24, and then stayed in the saddle until he reached Philadelphia on the following day. Bissel's 126-hour, 345-mile ride signaled American militia units throughout the Northeast to mobilize for war. 

It is likely that you haven’t heard his name, but that does not diminish his honor or his contribution.  My friend, it is actually unnecessary for others to celebrate you.  Just look in the mirror and be contented with who you are and what you bring to the table of life.  No one has to see; God sees.  Incidentally, just in case you haven’t been told lately, thank you for your service!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!