It’s midnight on a Wednesday night as I lay in bed wide awake listening to the rain pour on the tin roof. My body is physically in Costa Rica but my mind is wandering in Haiti. It’s been 6 years since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook Haiti. 2010 seems so far gone, but the effects of the quake lingers on.
–1.5 million Haitians displaced, many to blue tents, or tiny shacks covered in blue tarp.
-Haiti is now the poorest country in the world.
-thousands of people are without arms and legs.
–160,000 were killed as a result.
The damage is so overwhelming and devastating that sometimes we get swept up by it all and forget to acknowledge the flip side. So, let me lay it out for you:
>>builders predicted the blue tarp homes would last 6 months to a year, and 6 years later they are still sufficient to house a family. Many have been moved out of tarp homes and into permanent homes made of concrete.
>> they may be poor in regards to worldly standards, possessions, jobs,etc. but they are RICH in love, hospitality, community, and hope.
>>there are three prosthetics labs seeking to provide physical wholeness for these victims.
>>Organizations like Mission of Hope are coming in focused on rebuilding community amongst Haitians, zeroing in on mixing orphanages and elderly people’s homes to create unity and ownership of upcoming generations.
Such a tragedy could lead people to choose to see the darkness in the situation but Ephesians (5:13) tells us that when we choose to illuminate things, they become a light. Choosing to ask God of his presence during devastation pushes us to redeem these moments to Him. It reminds us that Satan has no strong hold even in heavy circumstances, and we see that in the way God is guiding Haitian people back to Him.
It’s similar to “Good Friday”. At the time, people mourned and were confused and hurt. They were angry and distraught, but as time went on, we now see the beauty behind it all. There was purpose behind the pain, it just took time to take the blinders off and recognize His presence and purpose through it all.
All of this to say, It’s easy to focus on the tragedy in our lives that has happened, but often we find that the tragedies are what propel us to the light; to the TRUTH.
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5
