Just Be Thankful

Just Be Thankful is one of my favorite old school 70s R&B jams but it is also a lens through which I need to look. There are many things that I wish were different in my life and many things that I want and need changed. But over the course of the last week those things have proven to not matter so much anymore. It was only a week ago that Japan was rocked by this horrible tsunami and earthquake that has killed almost 7,000 people, has 10,000 plus people missing and has displaced almost a half a million people. In light of what is going on in Japan I can definitely except the things I cannot change. And Japan is just another event in this year of already monumental events. Already this year there have been uprisings in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, and Libya. There was severe flooding in Australia and an earthquake at Christchurch in New Zealand. All these natural disasters that we cannot change just prove to us that we have to be thankful for what we have and then be sure to help those that are in need. Speaking of helping those in need, I've been really surprised to see that the response in charitable giving for Japan has been surprisingly much lower than to other natural disaster relief efforts such as Haiti and Hurricane Katrina. I wondered myself what the reason was and it was actually what was guessed by a CNN correspondent. The CNN correspondent guessed that there was a lower number of donations because of Japan's status as the third most powerful economy in the world. And even though Japan does have a powerful economy they have very present needs that they are not able to meet on their own. They need shelter, food, clothing, medicine, and help with clean up. So I hope that there will be more of a response in the coming weeks in order to help meet the needs that the Japanese have. As someone who is strapped for cash at the moment. I'm giving what I can and praying that they get more. The situation is just really devastating. It also makes me wonder how long it will take for Japan to return to some sense of normal. Will they ever be able to get back to normal? Haiti is still reeling from it's quake over a year ago and they still need help even though they aren't on the evening news every night. With so much destruction and uncertainty it is comforting to know that we have a heavenly Father who cares for us and wants the best for us even when it seems the world is crumbling around us. All we have to do is cry out for His help.