Haiti Earthquake - Are your Hearts Shaken up?

I wanted to do a post regarding Haiti because I am Haitian American. The past couple of days has shaken everyone internally as the news and the internet has been covering the devastation in Haiti. Maybe you do not know any Haitian people. Maybe you did not even know about the tiny country in the Carribean. However, now its the topic from the supermarkets to the Office. I have heard bad news and good news during the past few days from Haitian friends regarding their families. It has not been easy mourning with those who have lost so much and rejoicing when you find that people have lived. Its a lot of emotions to bare all at the same time as people relay stories.

So I am not going to retell any stories. I am simply hoping and praying that everyone will do whatever they can to help someone in need. Whether if it is a listening ear, a word of encouragement, maybe a donation to the Red Cross, whatever you feel moved to do, DO it.... People have made comments about God punishing Haiti, or where was God when this happened, or why should we help. God knows all and if you have any mixed feeling about Him I would suggest you start asking him these questions, I guarantee that if you truly want answers from Him he will respond and give you the answers you need. Get alone with God and ask him whatever your heart truly wants to know. If you're mad then go talk to God and tell him your concerns. He will show up if you are willing to listen to what he has to say.

This is a personal matter for me. My heart aches so I will be trying my best to help in my own way. If your heart aches also do something however small it is. If you opt out of doing anything and have your reasons, that's ok too. I just know that my outlook on life and my lenses are a bit clearer. I am thankful for the gift of life and I hope that when it's my turn to leave this earth that someone would say "She was an encouragement to those around her."

What would you want people to say about your life after you have passed away?

Thanks for reading

Just_Wondering

Those Words Hurt So Much

Oh my Goodness…..I said something I shouldn’t have said. How could I have let my anger, my emotions, my pain get the best of me? Why didn’t I just take the time to think about it before the words flew out of my mouth? What do I do now? All I can think about is how she feels right now. What would it be like to hear those words coming out of her mouth?

Words are very powerful…They can build confidence and can also make you feel lower then you’ve ever felt. Words can stay with you and you can hear something hurtful being played in your head over and over again. Someone can trigger a distant memory by mentioning a phrase that can have your mind reeling for the entire day and can also lead to sleepless nights

I said something hurtful two weeks ago to someone that I care about. In that moment when it happened, I couldn’t contain how I was feeling. I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the phone to say what I wanted so I opted to send it via text (something I don’t recommend but under the circumstances I really didn’t want to speak on the phone) So I typed one word after the next as I felt like I was giving birth to a ball of pain. Although I care about this dear friend of mine, I didn’t really take the time to choose my words wisely. I wanted to express one thing….but in turn I communicated something totally different. In the end, my friend was hurt.

See I didn’t know how bad it was until I took a break for a few days because I was hurting too. I prayed about getting my peace back and then thought that it would be best to meet up. When we met up and we talked about everything….Oh My….I really made my friend feel horrible…I did all that I could to fix the problem…I said sorry….I explained my actions….I wish I could take it all back….but I couldn’t.

So I went home thinking about how much my words weigh…How they would have felt if thrown in my direction from someone who I thought cared about me? I wanted to pick up the phone and say that I was sooooooo sorry…over…and over…and over again.

How do you fix the situation when you’ve said something hurtful?

Do you feel you should say sorry just once?

Do you ever try to put yourself in that person’s shoes?

What have you learned after the situation was repaired?