Today I am continuing my random reflections from the new film “Lone Survivor.” By now you’ve probably either seen the film or the trailers. At a critical moment in the story, the four Navy SEALs must decide what to do with the goat herders that have stumbled upon them. Release them and they will soon be surrounded. If they kill them, they are not following the Rules of Engagement. As the four debate and weigh their options, one gives the argument that more than anything else, he cares about his brother Navy SEALs. Standing on that mountain with everything hanging in the balance, he looked each one directly in the eye and said…
“I care about you. I care about you. I care about you.”
I cannot get over how powerful that moment was. I am struck by how important it is that we have those kinds of people in our lives. In the midst of the toughest situations we will ever face they look us in the eye and say “I care about you.”
Limited time and technology have a way of pulling at how much we invest in others. Strong relationships and brotherhood require intentionality now more than ever before. The SEALs live life together. They go to the limits of the human body shoulder to shoulder. Their relationships are forged together and cannot be broken. They will literally die for one another.
May we invest in friendships that will stand with us in the face of our darkest hour and say “I care about you.”
AARON CONRAD 