One year ago

Yesterday was March 11, 2012. A year from last year's earthquake. All day long; to be honest, almost all weekend long; there were memorial services and programs on the TV.

Part of me thought that watching all that all over again would just be depressing and mentally disturbing. In truth, most of the programs began with the caution that some people would find some of the videos stressful and that parental discretion should be used if children were present. The TV showed shattering debris falling as buildings crumbled in the earthquake. The black ocean engulfed towns as the tsunami poured in. Flames blazed here and there in the inky night as people waited for rescue.

Another part of me felt that it is important to remember and know what all the people of Northern Japan went through; are going though; are facing... The few programs I watched in the evening (I did not stay glued in front of the TV all day) were focused on the strength of the survivors and the compassion of the people who brought aid.

A blog friend Sara, sent me an e-mail and a picture yesterday. Sara has been making a quilt that represents her feelings about the earthquake and resulting disasters in Japan.

I wanted to share a very odd, but meaningful quilt that I made while thinking of the horrible earthquake and tsunami. I have never made anything like this--and I am a beginner with quilting, but it somehow started with a broken heart in the middle and then grew. It's very representational and not at all pretty. But I think that is okay for this quilt. I quilted the grey area with a blue-green thread that represents fissures, but also water, and some green... because we do have to have some hope. I love Japan and it's my heart that felt broken as well. Anyway, I just thought I would share it with you.

Sara's quilt so well represents Japan's trials. The breaking apart, the darkness of the first few days, the sadness of knowing things will never be the same. But she remembered the hope too.

There are so many emotions surrounding last year's earthquake and the months that followed. I know people who have spent time doing volunteer work in the areas themselves. I know people who have organized fund raisers. I know people who, in their uncertainty have turned to God as their strength and hope, but I also know people who are angry at God if they even still believe in God. There are never any answers for the question "Why?" For me it is "Why not?" The world is large, history is vast, the future is being formed one way or another. But God has been good to me so far and He knows what He is doing.

I have set the Lord continually before me;
...I will not be shaken...
...Thou wilt make known to me the path of life..."
Psalm 16:8, 11

I'm looking forward to a lifetime of tomorrows!