of a huge outbreak of Tornadoes across the nation that took the lives of 354 people, Joplin, Missouri is destroyed. There are 89 reported deaths thus far and it is surprising really, that the numbers of deaths aren't higher as the hospital took a direct hit!
One young man reported that he'd lived there his entire life and came up from his shelter totally disoriented not recognizing where he was. It looked like Armegeddon!
People in Joplin have no place to call home anymore. Just like the people of the earthquake and Tsunami ravaged areas of Japan...and countless numbers of places these days that we wake up and hear about almost every day now.
Does it make you wonder?
Sometimes, the petty every day concerns that crop up seem so irrelevant in light of the great concerns that are happening with people around the globe. The threat continues. It could be us next. We should never be so arrogant that we who have not been touched by tragedy, feel we are secure and safe.
In view of how the world turns of late, and the many many tragedies and losses across this nation, across the world...the one thing I feel is most immediate and important in life, is the readiness with which we face each day's challenges.
Are you ready for the Tornado that lies around the next cloud bank? Are you ready to face an uncertain tomorrow? Are you ready to lose all that's familiar and near and dear to your heart in a flash? Are you ready to wake up today and face an eternity that you've possibly never thought about before?
My heart hurts for the people of Joplin. I extend my deepest condolences to the people who have lost loved ones. And my prayers go out on their behalf.
When you sit across the borders and watch these things unfold, and have limited resources for hands-on help, the one thing that you can do is pray for others. I hope you're doing that today for Joplin.
And as we go about our mundane life tasks for the day, I hope we can all focus on the important things instead of the trivial, yet often demanding, time-stealing, truly insignificant things which rob us of the precious moments of joy that we could have had instead.
That old dated phrase, "Take time to smell the roses"... has never rung so true. Because daily, all the beauty and loveliness that life holds, the things we can so take for granted can (upon a whim of nature's dark disposition), be completely wiped away.
Today, it's Joplin who awakened from their slumber to find this stark reality. Lord, have mercy upon them...upon us all.
1 comment:
Lord have mercy............AMEN!
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