one year ago the earthquake in haiti sent a nation into desperation. as i read and listen and think about haiti today the one word i can't shake is grief. what is it like to pass by the remains of a life you once lived? to see the rubble of your home in a mound, unmoved? what would it be like knowing that place is where your loved ones rest?
grief. it's not something you can rebuild or fix or tear down. because grief clings with wild abandon, a broken heart may take a lifetime to heal. people do the things they are asked to do. the things they must do to survive. and grief comes with them. like a bag. sometimes too heavy to carry. sometimes, for a brief moment, set down and forgotten. the people of haiti, every. single. one. of. them., have endured so much pain. there is no way for me to even comprehend the level of grief they must feel. and yet i know they carry it with them. and they survive, doing what they can.
i leave in three weeks. i will go to haiti and do all the things i'm asked to do. i will build, i will tear down. knowing, all the while, that the underlying current is untouchable, unfixable in my hands. in my heart i carry grief. and for that reason, i know the people of haiti. and i know they are extraordinary to endure. when i ask myself, why am i doing this? i am reminded that i have so much to learn.
beautifully written.
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