Saturday, March 10, 2012

Thankful

This weekend I am reminding myself to be thankful.  I need to remember how blessed I truly am.  Sometimes I just need to be reminded over and over and over.  Mainly this weekend I am reminded by the thought of my brother.  A year ago on March 11th I spent a whole day not knowing if my brother, lovingly referred to by me and my kiddos as Zacky Poo, was alive. 

See a year ago my brother lived in Japan.  A year ago there was a 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan, the largest to ever strike Japan.  A year ago a a tsunami was triggered that reached heights estimated to be near 133ft high in one prefecture.  A year ago my phone rang maybe 20 minutes before my alarm was set to go off telling me to get up and pray.  A year ago I stared at an email my brother wrote me just minutes before the earthquake and wondered if it would be the last and felt good that he had been laughing minutes before.

That day was awful.  Not just for me, but for so many people.  I still find myself with a sense of anxiety when I think back to that day.  My family was one of the lucky and blessed families that heard from our loved one. We first heard tale from other survivors that Zack was ok, but in a situation like that you want to hear from your family member  yourself.  The next morning we finally received emails from him directly saying he and his then girlfriend were safe.  You can read the whole story here and here.

Anyways, I am just really reminded of the grief we were spared a year ago and reminded of what this weekend a year later could have been about.  My heart is sad for those who weren't like us.  The families who never heard from their loved one and never will again.  I pray today that God will comfort them and give them peace.  I can't pretend to know why things like this happen.  All I know is that we live in a fallen world where there is pain and suffering and heartache.  And I know God sees a picture that I do not see and never will.  I know that Revelation 21:4 says "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."  I pray that as a somber anniversary happens in Japan and throughout the world that God will wipe away those tears and that God will give them praise instead of weakness and joy instead of sorrow.  That lives would be celebrated and spirits would be lifted up.

Be thankful today and ever day bloggies, because you never know what could happen at any minute.

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