Hope for Haiti

Since I became a mom almost three years ago, so much in my life has changed. For starters, I spend my Friday nights at home with my family, such as tonight. We also have cable now, so usually that gives me some variety to what I can watch, unless all my favorite channels are showing the same thing... a Hope for Haiti telethon! Then my choices are numbered! But watching this and other footage about the recent earthquake has also made me aware of another change that began during my first pregnancy. I love to read, and besides What to Expect When You're Expecting, I also picked up Flags of Our Fathers while I was pregnant with James. It was a great book, especially for a history buff such as myself, but while I was interested in learning more about the preparation for and resulting battle on Iwo Jima, I was also struck by the background provided by the author. Even now, the part that sticks out in my mind regards the "Rape of Nanking", which was a terrible time in Asian history, when the Japanese invaded China and perpetrated horrors against its people. I don't want to go into the gory details, but let's just say "rape" is putting it mildly! I realized then, with my baby boy floating around my uterus, the other members of my family safe and alive, that we live in a volatile world. What used to make me shrug as I heard it ("War? Eh, I'm not involved." or "I'm not affected by poverty, who cares?"), over the past few years I have come to hate! Because these things are always going on, and its only the lucky accident of when and where I was born that allows me to live in peace, with a relative measure of safety for myself and my family. There are some truly horrifying reports from Haiti right now, just as there have been from various countries around the world, and even here in the US, during my lifetime. So I'm wondering... why me? Why do I live in peace and downright luxury compared to others who are just as human as I am, just as deserving of the right to have a family and a home? I don't know, but I thank God tonight for it.