I have about 50,000 different thoughts I want to write about tonight, so I'm going to try to not go off on too many annoying tangents... :) Well, here we are..One year after that devestating earthquake in Haiti. I remember learning about what happened..I was told that "this one is really bad" but unfortunately the only information I received was what I saw on the news..Sure, people at work would make a comment here or there with details on just how serious this really was..But I guess because of the fact that I am in chicago, and I was just going about my daily work activities that day, I didn't really "get it"...you know? Sure, I caught a couple of the Haiti releif specials on T.V., but for me it really didn't seek in, because that tragedy occurred outside of my own little world....There it is... Another reference to the song "My Own Little World" by Matthew West. The song poses the question "What if there's a bigger picture, and what if I'm missing out? What if there's a greater purpose that I can be living right now? Outside my own little world". Now, don't get me wrong..There is nothing wrong with having your own little world. You need those relationships that you can count on..You need those routines, because doing routines helps you build lives and relationships with your friends and families.Another example I'd like to share is the crucifixion. I was brought up in a single parent christian home, and all my life I have believed that christ died on that cross for my sins. Now, that belief has always been one of the several basses of my christian faith..Sure, I know it hurt when he was nailed to the cross..When he was betrayed by Judas, that hurt, being treated like a criminal had to have been bad, but I just kind of grew up accepting these things on face value. You could say that a part of my little world was in some ways compartmentalizing what he did on the cross..Does that make sense? Well, the day I saw the movie "The Passion Of The Christ", that changed everything for me. I remember as I was walking out of that theater I had tears in my eyes because I realized that up until that point in my life I really didn't "get it"..From that moment on, my own little world changed, because my relationship with christ became deeper. It seems like significant events need to happen in our lives for this kind of activity to happen. Now, what about dealing with a tradgedy like Haiti, or even Arizona..How do events like these effect you in that own little world? It's interesting how the lord uses tragedies like these to draw us closer to him if we let him. Here's what I'm getting at... Last year, I heard about the tragedy, and then over this year I heard topics on the news about it, read little things here and there about it, watched some haiti relief programs..However, for some reason, I always felt disconnected, because my involvement with Haiti consisted of what I would read online, or watch on the news. It was ironic that within 7 days of the one year anniversary of Haiti, the tragedy in Arizona Occured. Personally, it seemed like the one tragedy made me more passionate about the other tragedy, and vice versa. I think for me, when I was given the Death/Homeless totals for Haiti, and I was talking/praying about it on the air today, it sort of put me in this mindset of "wow....I forgot who devestating that really was" I'm not saying that the media did or did not give it enough attention to keep it "top of mind". I mean truthfully, as you go about your days, and your life just rolls on and on it's sometimes easy to have a tragedy even that big escape your mind. I think that is a part of what makes us human. Time goes by and it's the one year anniversary. All of a sudden, you are given statistics of things like deaths, and homelesness of victims, and you find yourself almost in shock....
That was me today.. I walk into the studio to record my afternoon airshift and as I'm prepping (that means getting thoughts, facts,scriptures, subjects and stories together that you can use on your 5 hour shift to make it sound like you just might actually know what you're doing. ha!) I get the stats for the Haiti Earthquake....When I read these numbers, I sat back in the chair and just stared at the window for a few minutes, trying to get my arms around what these numbers mean.. Because of the Haiti Earthquake, over 300,00 lost their homes... That is equivilent to the city of cleveland ohio...Imagine....The entire cleveland population...everyone.....Homeless.......
Because of the Haiti Earthquake, over 200,000 people lost their lives...That is equivilent to the entire city of DeMoines, Iowa...Imagine..The entire city of DeMoines, Iowa....Dead. This puts things in perspective. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like over there in Haiti. But understanding the details like the ones listed above definitely changed my way of thinking. Now, I have no clue what God's plan is, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I personally believe that when bad things...terrible things do happen in this world I believe the lord wants us to utilize what we learn so we can lean on him, trust him more, and by doing this pray for people that you never have before..People who you might not ever meet until we get to heaven. There's that saying "how can any good come of this?" In my humble opinion, there's on answer for you right there.. If this tragedy hadn't of happened, we wouldn't be praying about it.People wouldn't be leaning on jesus like they are now. People wouldn't be united in prayer all around the world, working together for the common good to help..That's how Jesus ministered.. The poor, the rich, the sick, the lame, the evil, the children, etc. Our desire should be wanting to be more like Jesus, right? well, there you go..Because of these tragedys, good is coming out of it. People who don't know each other are praying for one another. It's not about what political party you stand for. It's about how can we, on this earth come together to pray and be used by the lord to help those in need? You see, the more and more you pray, the deeper your relationship grows with Christ. Let me break this down in another way.. I think I'm even starting to confuse myself... ha!
I will go more into detail about these subjects as the blogs carry on, but for starters, let's go back to the question "How can any good come from this situation?"I want to talk to you about Angela.....I just typed that word, and then had an "Angela Moment"... I just kind of sat back in my chair, and kind of looked into space..It's happening right now....I call it the "man, this house is quiet at 11:45 at night/I'm thinking about Ang...I'm thinking about a song that comes to my mind when these moments happen... I Miss Her......
You know, if you've ever lost someone in your life, it doesn't ever really get "easier", I would say it gets "different" You come to a place where you're at peace with what has happened, even though you miss your only sister, you miss your friend, you miss certain things at certain times and even though you can talk and laugh about her (Ryan and Lauren love the stories I tell them about when Ang and I were their age) inside, there is this sad feeling that you wonder will ever go away. It's not a feeling of hopelessness. It is equivilent to visiting her grave, putting her favorite candy bar on the marker and think to yourself. "I miss you" Okay, during Angela's fight with cancer, that was almost a 2 year battle...If you have dealt with a cancer patient, you know what I'm talking about. As those 2 years rolled on, as I was taking care of my sister (which I am so grateful to have had a job at that time that allowed me to do so) things started to get systematically worse..I equate it to you're on a battlefield, then all of a sudden, all of these fires start burning all around you, and they seem to come out of no where. Just like that, the fires grow higher and higher to a point where almost panic sets in because you realize that there really aren't any options that can be planned..That feeling of hopelessness can bring one to ask the question "How can God be glorified in this?" I'll tell you how....
These events brought my family closer than we've ever been before
Hundreds of people praying for Angela.. Families, singles, couples,etc. Prayer always brings a family closer so perhaps as they were praying, the lord worked in their lives as well. My wife really saw me acting out my faith. At the time, she was a very new christian. When all of this happened, by showing her the faith and trust that I have in God, that really made her see what being a christian is. It's about having that personal relationship with christ. There is a saying that God's children should be seen and not heard. Don't just talk the talk...Walk the walk. I know that Angela's faith, her strength, and her preserverance witnessed to many many people. She told me that if her story could bring one person to Christ, it was all worth it.... That is the kind of sister that I had...
So, let's take what I just said about Angela, and use that on a grand scale. Angela was one person who left us to go on to be with the lord. The lord moved in so many ways during her battle. Now, times that by 200,000 deaths. Think about how many lives are being touch as we speak because of what happened in Haiti, as well as Arizona. I'm living proof that Jesus takes what is broken, and turns it into something beautiful. How about you? Have you ever felt broken? Have you ever found yourself asking God "why is this happening?" No matter how bad things seem to be, remember this.... Nothing ever surprises God. He knows exactly what's going on in your life. He knows exactly what you need and he will give it to you. Draw closer to him..Have that relationship with him. Try to act more like him. You see, by doing that, things can start to change. As we as christians spread the love of christ, and be christ like, the lord can use that to spead like fire.. If I may quote a song.. "watch your words spread hope like fire"... You see? It all comes back to our own little world..We look to God for wisdom and direction, he will show us things
outside of our own little world to encourage people..To minister to people...To have the words of Jesus spread hope like fire.......
Okay....I have taken up way too much of your time. ha! Thank you for reading this.. I really do appreciate it. God bless!
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