Awakened by disaster

Not my photo or creation... this picture has been circulating social media
as response to the tragedy in Texas - Hurricane Harvey 2017

I usually create a quick list in my head about the things I'm thankful for before falling asleep. It is a habit I cultivated a few years ago when I was fighting my depression demons and it is a habit that has stuck with me until today.

Late last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I started going through my list, which led me to think of the people who are going through this tragedy left by the aftermath of hurricane Harvey. My thoughts and my prayers went to them in that moment, but it still did not end there… my mind kept going and after sending wishes of peace and hope to all these people in Texas my train of thought continued as something like this:

"If I had a few moments to save my most valuable possessions, what would I save? If I could fit everything I could save in a bag and could only hold whatever weight I could safely make it out alive with… what things would I choose to save? Which ones would weigh heavily in my heart if I had to leave behind?" Followed by this thought, an image I saw on my Instagram history a few days ago quickly relapsed in my mind; one of the persons I follow on IG had shared a video and a post where the water covered about a foot or more of her furniture, and then she posted a selfie or her beautiful blue eyes wide open still in shock and disbelief; I could see the traces of tears still present on her face, her eyes spoke of her broken heart and mine ached… then the need to write this post was born.

First, I don't know what you are going through… Whether you are a victim of a natural disaster, or whether someone else's act has left you broken. I always want you to remember that whatever tragedy you are going through, is temporary. Right now, your heart may be broken even as you are reading this and thoughts of disbelief might be circling your mind and heavy feelings of defeat may be weighing you down; but just as the darkest of nights is broken by dawn, your tragedy will come to an end.

Second, if you are thinking you did something to deserve whatever has happened, stop thinking this; I assure you, there is nothing you did. Life has a way of happening and it is inevitable. One day we might be hanging from the highest star and the next second, tragedy might push us to the bottom of a dark alley. It is life. It is nature. It is the way things happen. There is no such thing as a God or a deity who wants to punish you for being you. 

Third, others tragedies might bring a sense of uncertainty of fear upon our lives. I know as I was going through these thoughts in my mind, I felt part of this… Another reason why I shook these thoughts off and started to write instead.  What if this is me tomorrow… what if I am the one who has to leave my home behind? What if I have to choose what will be going with me on my new journey and what will stay behind? The only sure thing is the uncertainty of these thoughts becoming facts. So, this is to say… what do we win by worrying? Specially about the little things or the mundane facts of our daily lives? We might be here today… we might be gone tomorrow or we might have to make a move; so really, how much do we gain by worrying right now?

Surprisingly, tonight's thoughts have made a circle in my head… This line of thought connects with the one that set all these ideas into motion and so I close the circle off by saying this:

What are the valuable things in my life? Really… What am I investing so much time worrying about? What would I have taken first from my house and what does this symbolize? Where is the real value of who I am? The people I love? I realized that most of my dear possessions symbolize the legacy I want to leave behind to my kids and to my loved ones when we I am gone. What about you? What did you choose?

Let us allow other people's tragedies create a sense of response. Not the superficial kind, not the hashtag kind, not the kind where we think out loud… "wow I am blessed." Let these tragedies generate something beautiful in us… to make us better, to wake us up from our day to day stupor; so that you and I stop wasting our time and energy worrying about things that will begin and end in the circle of life; so that we can truly choose the things that will make an everlasting impact in the ones we love. The kind of life that truly stays forever. Let us lead a meaningful life, the kind that no water, no fire, and no dust can erase… the kind that lives forever.

"Steep Yourself in God-Reality

22-24 Jesus continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more. 25-28 “Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?"    Luke 12:22-34The Message (MSG)