This week, my emotions are all over the place. I’m heartbroken for the victims in Haiti. The mass burials. The loss of life. The desperation and the struggle for the survivors to begin living a new life with less than they had before. I want to be able to do more, but I feel so helpless. My meager donation to the American Red Cross feels less than adequate.
I have been reading Money Saving Mom’s blog for quite some time and I want to encourage you to visit Crystal’s post about how she and her family are helping the victims in Haiti. Just by blogging about my small donation, her family will donate $10 to Compassion’s outreach in Haiti. If you have never heard of Compassion International, you should visit the site here.
(Click on the picture to go to Money Saving Mom’s post.)
When I got on Facebook tonight to catch up on status updates, I was very disappointed to read a few of the discouraging words people were saying about the aid that is being sent to help the Haitians and it broke my heart even further. I am not usually one to let others opinions sway my feelings toward them when I know they are passionate about what they are saying, but sometimes I feel like we are so desensitized to everything anymore that all we think of is ourselves. We don’t stop to walk a mile in anyone’s shoes before we start complaining.
It doesn’t matter if you make all the money in the world and live in beautiful mansions or palaces or if you live in a lean-to on a mattress in the mud, natural disasters are not something we can control and I have never heard anyone ask for something so catastrophic to happen to anyone. Why wouldn’t we want to help?
I don’t believe that we should be so quick to judge what is going on when we are so far removed from what has actually happened. The news is only capable of showing a tiny glimpse into the devastation these people have faced and will face for years to come. Our hearts should be focused on these poor, broken people and the lives that were lost, not pointing fingers and blaming those who are trying to help in the most basic way. We can’t all get on a plane and go to Haiti to help rescue victims and take care of the injured. Making financial contributions, whether it be through our government or through our texts/phone bills, we owe it to our brothers in sisters in Christ to make a difference.
I have so much more that I want to say, but I risk ruffling too many feathers and that is not my intention. However, if all of this tragedy was happening to you and your family, would it be more helpful to have people tell you how you should recover or actually take part in helping you recover?
