A free timmies and an earthquake

Two things that would likely never find themselves in the same sentence, never mind the same heading just did. How in the world did they manage to collide?

I stop at the same timmies every morning on my way to the office (you know I am a creature of habit). I usually go thorough the drive through, they are quick and there's minimal effect on the atmosphere. I am usually polite, I try to say good morning as I order my large double double refill, that's where I save the planet by not using paper cups :). I know some of the servers by name and like to address them by their names so they too feel respected and like they matter. This morning was different in that when I git to the till, they told me that my coffee was free, why I asked? Because, I was so pleasant, they said. It was probably a gimmick, but it made me think about being nice to others, and for the most part I tried to pass on that sense of good will to those I spoke with all day.

I heard about the earthquake this morning. I was horrified as I realized how many people must have been crushed to death in all the turmoil. As I arrived home I was greeted by my beloved with the news that someone we know, someone's daughter-in-law that our daughter babysat for, was killed in the quake. How in the world could this happen? Not two hours in the country with a group of nurses giving of herself to help others, this wife, mother, and grandmother was snatched from this world into eternity. She was there living her faith, there serving God in the poorest country in this side of the world and in a moment she entered eternity.

How do we go from being to not being, from life to death, from mortal to immortal? What heartbreak is felt in the loss? I know the heartbreak, I know the loss and I know the pain of losing a parent, two in fact. The destruction of a family by the loss of a member extends beyond the immediate. the loss by this family hurt a little friend of mine as he has experienced so much loss in his little life it would almost seem unfair.

I started my day with my free timmies, it wasn't right, but it was pleasant and a nice surprise. I will end the day with prayer on my lips for all these families and the millions in Haiti. Why do I deserve to live in Canada? The guilt comes at me in waves like the aftershocks of the quakes. So many times I have asked that question. Why have I been so blessed to live here. I have my beloved and my children, my friends and so much more. These poor people, the Haitians and the families who have lost someone have all this and more they now have sorrow, mourning and tears to wash their pillows.