Folks,
My heart continues to go out to the people who have lost so much both in Myanmar and in the quake zone of south central China. Lost loved ones. Lost homes. Lives and livelihoods in shambles. The force of both of the Asia emergencies, the cyclone and the seismic activity, has thrown so many families and children down to a point that is lower than low.
As I weep for the people of Myanmar and China, and as I mourn the loss of life, I also seek what it is that I can learn even in the midst of the frenzy of activity that has swept over me and many people around me as Food for the Hungry has responded to these disasters.
Perhaps a “lesson” of which I am reminded is one that I first felt on February 9, 1971 when I was thrown to the ground by an earthquake. Known as the “Sylmar Quake,” much of Southern California was jolted awake shortly after six o’clock in the morning. Though asleep and under the covers, I found myself, a few seconds of violent earth movements, thrown from my bed and onto the floor. The earth moved, but the walls held — and I came through the earthquake relatively unscathed. Keep reading for the “lesson.”
I recognize that such an earthquake experience pales in comparison to the jolts that rumbled through China a few days ago. Further, the force that threw me to the ground was also nothing like the strength, speed and destructive power of Myanmar’s cyclone winds and the tidal wave and surge. Yet as I think of the sheer power that rages in disasters such as these, I
am reminded how such events can help us grasp our own finiteness. We can again be humbled and brought low in the face of that which is bigger than ourselves. We can bow in humility and dependence before God for we can better grasp how little is actually under our control. It is humbling. Disasters shred physical property, but they can also rip apart our presumptions of autonomy and independence.
It is this posture of being laid low and humbled that brings me to a quote from the late author and writer Jack Miller. Jack said it this way,
“Grace flows downhill.”
My prayer for all of us as we stare at the enormous and mighty forces of earthquakes, cyclones, tornados and even famine is that we cling to God and resist our grandiose notions of self-sufficiency. Instead, even as we are laid low, may we bow down in humility before God, knowing that He will meet us in such lowlands.
Afterall, grace flows downhill.
Ben
P.S. May we all keep praying and doing what we can to help Food for the Hungry’s work teams and “local heroes” have the appropriate tangible assistance and resources to bring grace in a practical way to people who are “downhill” in Myanmar’s and China’s lowlands of despair.
