How's Your FOD?

I was on the deck of the USS Kearsarge, LHD3. Young sailors in Navy blue were walking very close together, very precisely, looking down. I asked the captain what they were doing (anyone who knows me knows I am a huge question asker. Don't ask my son about this. He'll get started... movies, TV, driving... I also digress frequently. I am the ADD branch of the family.)

The captain said they were performing a FOD Walk.

A Foreign Object Debris Walk.

A Navy jet fighter plane is a very expensive piece of equipment. The pilots are the best in the world (sorry, Air Force). ANY debris on the top of that carrier can get sucked into the engine of the plane, and not only destroy the plane, but kill the pilot. The sailors were meticulously scouring the deck for debris, the smallest amount of debris. It all had to be cleaned up so as not to endanger that pilot or the plane. I don't know how many times a day a FOD Walk has to be performed, but it looked downright boring. But very necessary.

I have thought about that mundane task for years. I even did a graduate presentation on it.

The metaphorical applications are vast.

Couples, parents, teachers, humans...  How much FOD do we not clean up, leave out on our "decks," to be sucked up into the hearts of our loved ones, students, friends, acquaintances, business contacts... You see? The engine of the plane is like the heart of a human. Words, deeds, broken promises, etc., are FOD. And we are killers.

Words are the most powerful weapons humans have. The current situation in North Korea comes to mind. How much attention is being paid to a 28-year-old leader because of his words? How many times have professional athletes had to apologize lately for homophobic FOD spewed hastily? How many young people have gone on shooting rampages because of FOD hurled at them over the years?  The examples are endless.

How much pain do we cause with our words - our FOD?

I try hard to clean up my FOD, but I know I am messy. Reader, I must try harder. You must try harder. Think about it. Words hold a powerful punch. I bet you, Reader, can recall to this day words carelessly spoken to you as a child. They stick. They cut. Wounds from ill-spoken, harsh words never completely heal. They can fester, re-open, and ooze, causing the cycle of FOD  to begin again.

So how can we apply this to a wedding? I am glad you asked.

This is a song we sang to kids in VBS 147 years ago:

Love is gentle.
Love is kind.
It does not envy; it does not boast.
It is not easily angered.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
It is not self-seeking.

I may have left words out. Words... powerful words.

Here is the original version:

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. 

How's your FOD? Go on a walk and keep your head down. Eyes wide open.