Yesterday I shared a response from my friend Kerline shortly after the earthquake in Haiti. Today I find myself trying to imagine what it might have been like. It feels incomprehensible. I try to imagine living even in a state of poverty and I find it is difficult to understand. I am so fortunate and blessed. I am thankful.
As I meandered through my thoughts today, I was thankful many many times for the timing of my brother and
sister in laws adoption. Sonta and Jean Marc have been home from Haiti for quite some time. I know that Sonta thinks often about her birth parents in Haiti and there is no way to know if they survived the earthquake. I pray for peace for Sonta’s heart as she remembers the days of the earthquake and the media coverage of her home land. I am thankful God saw fit to bring these siblings into our family and bless us with their love and presence. I have a connection to Haiti through them and I will always pray for the children of Haiti to be protected and provided for.
And then I drove down my street, it was peaceful and quiet and I wondered about the sounds of people dying, riots in the street, violence between people and government leaders and I realize that I often miss appreciating the sound of silence.
I drank cold and clean water today, almost a whole gallon of it and I wondered about how I would do if there was a water shortage or a disease that might be spread through contaminated water. I wondered what I would feel if my thirst was not easily quenched…
I drove down Michigan and saw the new Children’s Hospital and I wondered why we might be given such a facility in my own home town. I dreamed of transplanting this amazing hospital into Port-au-Prince and how children’s lives would be saved because of the care that could be provided. I said a prayer for the many people of all ages who are dying in the country of Haiti because of lack of medical intervention….
I came home to my warm home and cupboards full of food options and I wondered what it would be like to live in a tent in Haiti. I think of the storms and the sand and the heat and the bugs and the crowds and I say a prayer of thanks for my home, the warmth, the privacy, the quiet, the cleanliness, the stability of its foundation and so much more.
And tonight I am extremely grateful for the simple pleasures I am blessed with each and every day. I am keenly aware that I take so much for granted and I hope that on the anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, I will live differently because of the plight they are experiencing. I desire to live profoundly thankful!
