Lunch after the tsunami (by A Simple Country Girl)
image courtesy of A Simple Country Girl
For those of you who don’t know, Darlene aka A Simple Country Girl, is taking a break from posting at her blog Aspire to Lead a Quiet Life in order to recover from a back injury and concussion. She did, however, manage to write this short story and has been kind enough to allow me to share it here. Please pray for continued healing and REST for my dear friend. Thanks again, Darlene.
Lunch after the tsunami
I mix frozen apricots with honey, spices and the morning’s leftover oatmeal. I slide the pan into a preheated oven as split pea soup simmers low. Cabbage, red bell pepper, celery, tahini paste, olive oil, and teriyaki sauce marinate cold in the fridge. For lunch I eat this food with thanksgiving and guilt. I find that the two opposites coat my tongue as if I had shaken them in a jar like I do my homemade vinegar and oil dressing.
As I eat my flavorful, nutrient-dense meal, I wonder what nourishment, beyond that of calories, is found in rescue-worker handled, Japanese rice balls. I sip very hot soup from a small spoon. Do the tsunami survivors drink water that is lukewarm? If it’s not from a bottle, but perhaps from a swimming pool like I saw in that on-line image, do they drink it anyway?
How dare anyone, anywhere, complain about food too bland and then have the audacity to ask for Tabasco sauce when across the ocean blue a black-haired mother tries to remember her daughter’s face, the very smiling face she gently cupped in her hands as they touched noses. That beautiful face is one that the mother tries to remember before the earth broke loose and waves swallowed her kin wholly away. Who dares think of hot sauce while countless mothers heave with unimaginable loss?
image courtesy of A Simple Country Girl
I pull the bubbly dessert from the oven and as the door snaps shut I doubt hard about having lead anyone to Christ.
Then I think of the mother whose grip slipped and I wonder, would I, a Christian woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, would I have tried to outrun the tsunami? Or would I have turned and faced it with screams of delight as it launched me into eternity? The taste of my apricot dessert soon fades because the flavors of thanksgiving and guilt are way too strong.
And I need a glass of water.
image courtesy of photobucket.com
This morning I was listening to a survivor saying he had no hope, could see no future for himself or his family. I wanted to say to him, to survive is to have hope. And so I pray hope for us all.
Maureen´s last [type] ..More Like You Than Not
And my heart aches.
Louise´s last [type] ..Lizard brain and doing the right thing
Mine, too.
seekingpastor´s last [type] ..Three Things That Should Never Happen at McDonald’s
I’m glad to see you up and around, Darlene! Still praying for that hard head of yours
. You know I love you.
Your words here capture what many of us have been feeling, I think. Even my son told me this morning on the way to school–”I feel guilty. There’s nothing I can do.”
But that’s not true, is it? Praying with you, friend. Praying.
laura´s last [type] ..Tears for Japan
I think you just summed up my thoughts too. Praying here as well.
Michael´s last [type] ..Don’t Be Afraid
Touched. Speechless. Grateful that I know my Lord.
HisFireFly´s last [type] ..Tears for one – tears for millions
Well said. Pray without ceasing.
V.V. Denman´s last [type] ..101 Things I’d Rather be Doing Than Writing a Blog Post
Definitely feel some of these same emotions. So devastating. Praying for a tremendous outpouring to come with the relief and physical rebuilding.
Thanks Darlene. Praying for a speedy recovery for you as well.
jasonS´s last [type] ..Stupid Daylight Saving Time
Thanks for sharing this heart felt post. We can share the pain by watching the news, and our prayer is that those sufforing will turn to Christ as their only HOPE. Inland churches are rushing to assist, and they will bring Christ with them. Continue to pray for those hurting and that they will find the God who loves them.
Hazel Moon´s last [type] ..Green Bugs and Spider Webs
Oh, Darlene. That porridge of thanksgiving and guilt is sweet and sour. My heart, too, aches.
Sandra Heska King´s last [type] ..Groaning for Japan
Thank you miss Kathy for giving space to the ramblings of my heart. Imagine that our individual prayers are like flickers in heaven, but as we come to Him together, oh what flames of love He must see.
Blessings.
A Simple Country Girl´s last [type] ..A Letter
I was thinking this morning of Paul’s words in II Corinthians 1: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyound our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened so that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted to us in answer to the prayers of many.”
May grace abound to the people of Japan.