After many hours of silence and dead air, news of safety from a son in a land far away hit by an earthquake and tsunami, is like getting permission to breath again. An occasion of joy. A moment to celebrate.
But of those who have lost everything, lost family, friends, livelihood, in effect, life, the suffocation of disbelief, of shock, and the finality of absence will stretch on as though terminally.
How to comfort? How to live with the guilt of survival? How to live? How to mourn? What path again to acceptance, life, joy? Such ancient questions.
To approach these questions with words of humility, with reverence for the present, with clarity of occasion, and in the understanding of "otherhood," is this not a primary task of Christian writing? As well, the task of being human.
I had planned another post but this will suffice.
Your son must live in Japan? I can only imagine how you must have felt, not knowing he was okay. I'm so glad he is!
ReplyDeleteNo doubt you will take from the occasion, something to bless and encourage others in the future. We all know, nothing is wasted.
So glad to hear of your son's safety. We have a daughter in New Zealand, thankfully on the North island away from Christchurch's devastation.
ReplyDeleteBut our experiences remind us how fragile life is, and how blessed we are to experience each day--especially every day in His presence.
In the mall today, trying to imagine the floors rolling, the walls waving, then the entire structure flattened under tons of water. I swayed and felt somber.
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief it must be to know he's safe. Sobering, though, to think of so many lost. And today I complained about stripping the bathroom wallpaper.
ReplyDeletePam M.
Events like those in Japan really bring clarity to what is important in this life
ReplyDelete