Thursday, January 13, 2011

Haiti is on my Heart

It's been a year since the earthquake in Haiti.

I was remembering this post I did last year, all my whirling thoughts as I attempted both to process the tragedy and share about it with my little girl.

For a long time -- months, in fact -- we prayed nightly for Haiti. As other countries went through earthquakes and hurricanes, we added them to our nightly litany. For a long time, the sweet girl would not let us forget to pray for the people of these countries, and especially for Haiti.

But time marched on, and somehow...we forgot. All of us. We still prayed for Haiti sometimes. We still talked about the earthquake sometimes, especially when we read reports from places like Compassion as they reflected on rebuilding and recovery. But we did not pray faithfully each night.

And now a year has gone by and I'm reading and thinking and pondering again. The sweet girl and I spent a long time at dinner talking about Haiti and being grateful for our blessings.

Haiti is on our hearts again, and I'm praying this time we won't let it slip back out so easily.

Of all I've read in the past couple of days, this article is perhaps the one that has moved me most deeply. If you have a chance, read it prayerfully: "A Strange Land Where the Poor Are Rich and the Suffering Sing."

Lord have mercy on the people of Haiti. And Lord, do not let us forget.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this reminder. I too wept and prayed over Haiti last year ... and then let it slide to the background as life went on. I need to remember to continue to pray for them, as they surely continue to need it!

Beth said...

God is so good to send us reminders. And I often find that my daughter takes the lead in helping me remember people who are hurting. God really put Haiti on her heart last year, and so it became a big part of our family prayers. I love how gracious God is to lead us through our kids!