I know what you’re thinking, and that’s not what this is about. The word “triggered” has been around a lot longer than the current term “snowflake,” which is applied to people who can’t handle differing opinions. The Merriam-Webster dictionary has several definitions for “triggered,” but I’m going to go with this abbreviated one: “affected by an emotional trigger.”
Some years back, Lynne and I went to Angel Fire, New Mexico, with some close friends. The husband was a Vietnam veteran like myself. A memorial near Angel Fire was holding a dedication ceremony with bricks honoring Vietnam veterans. My friend and I paid for bricks for ourselves as well as for my twin brother Roger.
After the ceremony, we toured the museum portion of the memorial. In one room there was a video playing called “Letters From Vietnam,” a compilation of films from that nation as portions of letters were read. As I was watching, I began to tell Lynne about some missions we went on as the war winded down. Dubbed “Sparrow Hawk,” these missions entailed camping out at a helicopter landing zone waiting for an enemy sighting. When a sighting was made, a Marine unit would board the choppers and be inserted into close proximity to the enemy. Sometimes the enemy fled, and sometimes they stood and fought.
While watching the video, I could smell the aviation fuel and hear the “thump, thump” sound of helicopter blades. It “triggered” an overwhelming sense of sadness, and I began to weep. I had to go outside and gain my composure. The only other time I had experienced emotions like that was when we visited The Wall (Vietnam Memorial) in Washington, DC.
I’m being transparent here when I say that I weep more than I used to, but it’s not all about sadness. After missing several Christmas holidays while I was doing security contractor work in Baghdad, Iraq, Lynne and I spent a couple of days at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in Asheville, North Carolina. That first night, we attended an evening of singing Christmas carols. I wept. When our church has a night of worship, I weep. When I hear testimonies of changed lives and saved marriages, I often find myself weeping. When I hear a powerful worship song, I weep. Most of all, I find myself weeping when I think back to what a scumbag I was — bad husband, bad father — and how God orchestrated a series of events that brought me to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
If you stop and think about the aforementioned Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, “affected by an emotional trigger,” that’s something that should be happening to all of us who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior!
The Apostle Peter states it this way: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV) The Apostle Paul tells us that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)
I could go on, but the blessings of eternal salvation are too numerous to list. It should “trigger” all of us with an emotional response. I think I’m going to cry.
What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!
