1 Corinthians 13:7
A few things witnessed, heard, and read this past week: The President's State of the Union address in which he highlighted many points with the economy being among them and a call for more cooperation between political parties for the benefit of the people of this country. A conversation with friends who just lost a loved one with the heart-breaking grief so evident on their faces and in their hearts. The nightly scenes and stories of the continuing devastation in Haiti and its effects on the lives (and deaths) of a still countless mass of people. A news story reporting the halting of airlifting severely injured Haitian earthquake victims to the U.S. (in particular Florida) for proper and necessary life-sustaining medical care because of a dispute over who will cover the cost of that care. All these things are at first glance seemingly unrelated but, are they?
How much, in dollars and cents, is a life worth? The life of a victim of natural disaster; the life of people struggling economically to put food on the table, a roof over their heads, pay for basic necessities, find employment; the life of a loved one so dear who has died no matter the length of their life. Can we really put a price on life?
A while back I heard a story about trees - perhaps it was a certain species of trees but memory isn't serving me well right now. In any event, the story related that in a grouping of trees when one tree is struggling for survival, the more healthy trees surrounding it will reach out with their roots and provide nourishment to their "companion" so that perhaps it may indeed survive. Now, my mind knows trees do not feel emotions but...if they did, I would say this is an act of love - to reach out and care for a most vulnerable neighbor.
What is the cost of love? Perhaps it's in sharing the burden of bearing another's pain through our care and compassion. Perhaps it's believing that all good things are possible when we reach out and touch someone or a group of people, through our cooperative efforts and the sharing of our gifts and talents. Perhaps it's our clinging to the hope that with our help, however we are able, that goodness will prevail. Perhaps it's enduring some hardships of our own in the name of assisting others in distress. Yes, there is a price to pay for Love - in time, energy, even money - but let's ponder this: isn't the "cost" just too high for the alternative: abandonment?
Peace on the Journey.
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