The only one that all the kids seemed really familiar with, class after class was “Tsunami”. Not surprising, considering that some of them probably remember the 2004 tsunami hitting the island. The younger ones probably don’t…but they’ve lived in the wreckage of the aftermath.
Cindy asked one class if the water had reached the school, and they said yes. We were in a room on the second level, and with the windows open, I could almost see the beach. Almost. And I looked outside and saw what was between the school and the ocean and saw houses. Communities. Families.
Lives.
And pictured that big, vast, powerful and unforgiving ocean crashing over it.
And for the first time in a while?
I felt my heart break.
I felt my heart break as we helped them with their projects and graded their little books.
I felt my heart break as we packed things up, waved goodbye to the kids, and got in the car.
Natural disasters really get to me. I don’t know about you, but it seems like every time there’s an earthquake or a tidal wave or something, it always hits the hardest in the poorest of places. It does the most damage in those places. Haiti is an example, and so is the 2004 tsunami. You hear about these things happening on the news and read about it in the paper, but it’s hard to wrap your mind around it.
But here I am, helping these little Thai children color pictures and learn english; little Thai children who might’ve lost everything to a giant wall of water.
I looked at them, and couldn’t help but see each and every one of them as a miracle.
And it changed me.
Life is a miracle. No matter where I’m at. People are precious; life is precious. It’s irreplaceable. So what will it take for us, you and I, to LIVE like we believe it?
Whether you believe that Jesus came to save you from death or not, you probably won’t argue with me that this world is full of pain. Earthquakes that rip homes apart, divorces that tear families apart, tsunamis, death, disease, pain, crime, floods – just to name a few. So what’ll it take for us, living in abundance, to step out of our comfy little bubble, and reach out to a hurting world? To see beyond ourselves and do something about the injustice we see?
Such are my thoughts. Let me know what you think….
