existential mini series: part 3

an earthquake wrecked haiti. another came and devastated chile. people's lives have been forever changed, and yet i still go to work, breathe in, breathe out, and go to bed. in the most physical sense, these disasters have not affected me. in the spiritual sense, they most certainly should. why? that's my next question. i know the textbook answer is something along the lines of, "because they're christians too". but i think there's something more to this. and carissa lemos is getting what that is. i met carissa @ SPU in university ministries. she's now running around the forests of california teaching biology to young ragamuffins. here are her thoughts on "why?" and a really compelling answer.


"this morning i've been mulling over a powerful image of connectedness.
yesterday afternoon i drove along westcliff and watched huge waves crash into the shore, the larger than normal swells a result of the 8.8 earthquake to hit Chile yesterday. according to CNN the death toll has reached 700. not to mention the damage to fresh water sources, the thousands upon thousands who have been displaced. the people who have lost their livelihoods due to the damage of local businesses. the children that will suffer because their schools have been destroyed. it goes on and on and it's all connected.

the image of the shock waves crossing the sea and crashing on our shores is a powerful one. and one i pray we will not miss. everything is connected." (emphasis mine)

that's the answer. why should i care what happens to those around me? because everything is connected. but like i said, i think there's something more to this! and i think it has a lot to do with romans 12:5.

"...And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.

did you read that? we belong to each other. and that is what connects us - what makes his hurt become her hurt become my hurt. and we need each other in order to stay connected. i need those hurting in haiti to remind me that life is a breath. i can have it all today, and have nothing tomorrow. i need those people to remind me to care. to make their hurt my own so we can maintain that connection in the body of Christ. because everything is connected.

part four to come - from myself and this lady who understood just how connected we are.