"The Way We Get By"

I love to watch documentaries. Often I prefer to watch a documentary instead of a movie. On Netflix last night, I watched this one, The Way We Get By.


The film follows three senior citizens who are part of a larger group of people in Bangor, Maine that greet troop planes. Ever since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, they have personally welcomed home every U.S. soldier whose plane has landed in Bangor. As of the end of filming, this totaled over 750,000 soldiers!

Apparently, Bangor is one of the major entry and exit airports for our troops. And the airport has even given this group of people a room to show military memorabilia, post all the casualties from the current conflicts, give the troops snacks and have cell phones available free of charge for the soldiers to call anyone in the U.S. once they land.

More than one time I choked up at the thought of what these young boys and girls have done. And many of the senior citizens that volunteer for this served in WWII or the Korean conflict. One of the men, Bill, (almost 90) showed that his farm was in complete disarray. He was walking on trash in his home and near bankruptcy, yet every day sometimes 3 to 4 times a day...even if the plane arrives at 3:30 in the morning...he is there ready to be the first friendly face these troops see when they step foot on U.S. soil.

This documentary reminded me of a book I once read about a town in North Dakota that was situated along a railroad station and the people in several counties around it took turn fixing food, pouring coffee and greeting every troop that came through there. Again, it was a major stopping point no matter whether the train was head west to the Pacific or east toward Europe.

These people didn't say they served these soldiers because of God or any higher calling than just the fact that they wanted the men and women serving our country to know that they are appreciated. And these are not just blind patriots...two of the three people followed in the film voiced concern or disagreement with why we are involved in these conflicts anyway. But, they knew that no matter their personal beliefs, these soldiers are putting their lives on the line for us and they deserve to be welcomed home.

As I watched this film, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if we Christians would mobilize in such a concentrated effort to make a difference in one area at a time. We can't all go to the same place...but if we banded together in small groups and dedicated our lives...no matter the time, no matter the cost...to focus our energy on one specific mission...what would the world look like? hmmm?