One ending, One Beginning, One Continuing saga

Today is the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. There were updates and continuing questions about what went wrong, what could have been done better, and what all of that means for the rest of the US in the event of another natural disaster. There were updates on the Health, the psycho-social, and the criminal effects such a widespread disaster had on those affected by the storms. In so many ways, the hurricane continues to victimize the residents of New Orleans- it is their continuing saga.

On the other side of the world 12 Korean hostages were freed by the Taliban. Their ordeal is over. They will get to go home. They will not need to ever return to the location of their victimization. It is the end, but also the beginning. It is the beginning of their recovery. The beginning of putting back together the pieces of lives torn apart by terror.

These two groups of people now have more in common than anyone would ever care to share.

It seems that all around us there is fear, terror, pain, heartache and disappointment. In eras past, these conditions might have brought us all together in a shared experience. Today, though, it seems that we have bought into the lie that these conditions of pain, or disappointment, loss, and hurt provide us the excuse to pull away and seek only for ourselves what we feel we need. Individuals looking to thier own agenda separated by a chasm that seems unbridgeable. BUT GOD...

I was reminded today, that sin is the common denominator. It is an End of the close relationship we have with God, and a Continuing saga of separation from God and one another. The great news is that it is also the Beginning. Because of sin, grace is the beginning of God's ability to reach through our circumstances and allow us to not only approach His throne, but also reach across the divide between neighbours and begin to 'do life together'. Perhaps as we walk together we can be stronger, and healthier.

It shouldn't take a terrorist, or a hurricane to open our eyes to the pain in those who sit beside us on the bus, or who work next to us... or even who occupy the pew in front of us.