little words

I confess: I always struggle to write any kind of blog response to disasters such as the one currently taking place in Japan.  Words seem rather belittling coming from me, not threatened by rubble, waves or radiation.  It's now I rely on the intercession of the Spirit with groans that words cannot express.  I cannot comprehend it; part of me feels that it would be condescending for me even to try.

Lord, have mercy.

From BBC live coverage page 
(at the time of writing this post)

1. A large explosion has occurred at the Fukushima-Daiichi - or Fukushima I - nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan, close to the epicentre of Friday's earthquake. Officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors. Tens of thousands of people in the surrounding area have been urged to evacuate

1. A mammoth relief operation has swung into action to help those affected by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The military has mobilised thousands of troops, 300 planes and 40 ships

1. Officials say more than 1,000 people are feared dead, with fears that the death toll could rise significantly. One of the worst-hit areas was the port city of Sendai

1. Police say 215,000 people have fled their homes, and there are reports that whole villages have been swept away

1. The 8.9 magnitude tremor has been confirmed as the fifth strongest to occur anywhere in the world in the past 100 years. More than 50 aftershocks - many of them more than magnitude 6.0 - have also been reported

the words I don't have

There are many times when I wish to comment on something in the world but really don't feel I have adequate words. A couple of days ago I was staring out of the kitchen window, thinking, what if what I was looking at was not a couple of pretty bushes but a torrent of murky water and destruction all around me? What if I was not here but in Burma? It's so hard to grapple with events on a worldwide scale. This morning I think and pray for China...for all those who have lost loved ones and for those trapped under the rubble. I can't find words to pray so instead I offer up silence. Silence full of the things I don't know how to say. Sometimes we shy away from thinking about these things because we are overwhelmed. I would rather be overwhelmed than forget. I take the lump of overwhelmed-ness and offer it as part of the prayer.

Lord, don't let me forget.