China Earthquake
May 14, 2008 2 Comments
I’m resisting the urge to ignore what is going on in China. How horrible would it be if the your town was shaken into rubble? What if our homes and grocery stores and coffee shops were just a pile of debris? That is what every man, woman, and child is experiencing in China after massive earthquake. They predict that around 40,000 to 50,000 people will be found dead. Sometimes it’s easier for me to ignore big things like this because it seems so far away and distant. I think maybe I numb myself so I don’t hurt so badly for the people. Love has it’s ups and downs. The reality is that every person that died in this earthquake was someone’s mom or dad or sister or brother or son or daughter or best friend or mentor. How do you usually respond to overwhelming disasters like this? Leave a comment.
Parents cry in front of the rubble of a collapsed high school as they wait for news of their children at the earthquake-hit township of Hanwang in Mianzhu city, northeast of Chengdu in Sichuan province, May 14, 2008
A trapped child is seen given medical aid after an earthquake in Dujiangyan, China’s Sichuan Province May 13, 2008, in this image taken from CCTV television footage
An elderly woman walks past houses collapsed following Monday’s powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Mianyang city in Sichuan province, China, Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A general view of the destroyed town of Beichuan in southwest China’s Sichuan province. More than 50,000 people are dead, missing or buried under rubble after China’s devastating earthquake, as the full horror of the disaster begins to emerge
I’ve thought about it. But of course, I get really dramatic in my head and start to freak out at the thought of Reliance Health Care collapsing in on me, so then I don’t think about it anymore. Vicious cycle.
Seriously though, it’s so easy to compartmentalize here. China is so far away. But those are people God desires relationship with. And how many of them are not with Him now because of this? As I ponder, this one spark of hope comes to mind. China is a closed communist country. So is Myanmar (Burma). Both have recently experienced tragedy of astronomical proportions. Perhaps these traedies will lead to the closed doors being opened, to chains being broken, to lives being healed. Maybe this tragedy is making way for the Gospel, so no one else has to die without Jesus. Maybe God is making a way for His name to be spread throughout all the earth. Wouldn’t it be just like Jesus to bring life from death?
Jason: I’m with you on this. I wish I could just look the other way but this is too real. My issue is that I tend to dwell on it. I watch and read all I can about it and it leaves me feeling helpless. Even though they are not in our backyard, I have traveled just enough to know they are real people with real families. I also can’t help but think about how these things fit into prophecy. I am no theologian. But I know enough about the Bible to see this as prophecy in action. Thank God He is in perfect control or I would lose heart and my mind. Enjoying your blog. . . DAD