The last week has been intense for all of us, but not really as intense for those who live in Haiti and who have loved ones in Haiti. Wanting to have a positive impact, wanting to send our love tangibly to Haiti, BF and I have been looking into where we might send donations. You likely have, too, and the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, and others have done a wonderful job of setting up really fast, efficient, accessbile ways to donate. Those are great organizations who do good work. Those dollars will go far. In addition to general earthquake relief, we have been moved by our awareness of the orphan crisis to assist in that area as well. Our family will celebrate one year of being together on January 26, 2010. One of the things we planned to do to celebrate that day was to make a donation to an organziation that provided orphan care. Humbled by our celebration in the midst of so much sadness, our donation will be made to Heartline Ministries, Inc., a 501c3 organization who has spent over 20 years in Haiti doing humanitarian work, adoptions, and education. If you are looking for another way to positively impact Haiti’s recovery, perhaps Heartline makes sense for you as well.
When unspeakable tragedy strikes, it reminds us to hold our loved ones close. The earthquake in Haiti is a horrible way to be reminded of our need to be grounded in our love, rooted in our engagement to humanity. And because of its sheer devastation, because it would be unspeakable to forget what matters in the face of this tragedy, we must, today and everyday, make the commitment to embrace what really matters. This is what I am reminding myself of today and, hopefully everyday.
