Tsunamis

There are many of us in the world today that have had our lives completely changed in what seemed to be a blink of an eye. Sudden death, severe accidents, changes of heart, job loss, natural and not so natural disasters can sweep in and destroy completely the life we knew. We are left in devastation. We cling desperately to the ruins as we try to rebuild.
And when it happens to others, we, too, ache inside. We weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. Our hearts break repeatedly as we stand witness to the pain and ruin of our fellow man. It doesn’t matter that we live on the other side of the street or town or world. We feel their pain.
The tsunami that hit Japan hit the rest of us, too. It swept in unannounced and forever changed thousands of lives. The effects will reach far into the future as families, villages, governments and our global communities struggle to put themselves back together.
The emotional tsunami that accompanies such disasters can be just as overwhelming. We feel shock, sorrow, helplessness, fear, and even despair. We may be so overcome that we feel nothing. We just want it all to go away. We can get angry when it doesn’t. We can feel guilty that so many suffer but we sit in our safe comfortable homes. We can feel relieved that it didn’t happen to us and then guilt washes over us for feeling that way. We can be just plain mad, asking, “Why, why, why?”
These are all stages of grief. These emotional tsunamis are normal, part of the human experience just as real tsunamis are part of Japan’s experience. The key to healing is to let the feelings wash over you when they come and then get on with your life. It may take days, months even years for the aftershocks to stop but they do. Remember that Japan always rebuilds!! We can too.
Ronnie Dunn has a beautiful new song out (he’s country). I love it more each time I hear it. It is particularly appropriate for now- “We all bleed red, we all taste rain, all fall down, lose our way…….My scars, they are your scars and your world is mine. Sometimes we’re strong, sometimes we’re weak, sometimes we’re hurt and it cuts deep- we live this life breath to breath. We’re all the same, we all bleed red.”
To the people of Japan, we are bleeding and weeping and praying with you! That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?