Life and Death

Welcome back to myself! I guess I'm still really just getting started since I've only written two total posts, but the welcome back refers to the year gap. I now find myself with an almost 15 month old and currently 13 weeks into round 2. A lot has happened in a year.

My return has been triggered by two completely different catalysts, one being another friend just starting her own blog and the other being a world catastrophe. I'm not sure what I have to say today that is so necessary to put to page, but somehow I find I must document a couple things, even if only for posterity's sake.

While my friend both anecdotally and movingly detailed the wonderful miracle of birth to her second born son, simultaneously around the world Japan is experiencing the most devastating natural disaster of an 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan's history. The death and destruction that has taken a toll on that country is heartbreaking and earthshattering. It makes you wonder how can these two phenomenons, both miracles in their own right (one undisputedly horrendous and the other equally beautiful)occur within the same time continuum, within the same world we live. We see both life and death in the same breath and are supposed to continue about our daily lives as though neither was an act of God, but simply a mundane detail of a Tuesday. Sure, we are affected, maybe for 10 minutes, maybe for 10 days, but inevitabley we forget both and get back to "reality."

I'm not sure how to go about properly revering and appreciating , empathizing or praying in these situations, how to keep either or both miracle in the forefront of my mind for longer than a day or two without forgetting the impact on the lives of those closely involved. Both, polar opposites have brought tears to my eyes today, the awe and beauty of the birth and breath of new life, and the horror and utter sadness of the emptiness of death and loss. Lord, help me to remember these both, to have open eyes to see and respect both in life. Help me to look and love about me, and not get caught up in my own little world.