Hope for Haiti, Hope for the Nations.

I'm sitting here waiting for Microsoft Office updates to install on my computer and for towels to finish drying, so I figured I could take a few moments to write about something that's really been on my heart this past week or so.

As everyone knows, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010. The death toll has risen to roughly 300,000 people, and it is still continuing to increase. Bodies are being thrown in open graves as they are continued to be pulled out from underneath the rubble. Thousands of volunteers and reporters have traveled to Haiti to assist, and millions of dollars have been raised by celebrities and everyday citizens to bring aid to this country. People all over the world are now eager to adopt the orphans in Haiti, and the situation in Haiti is talked about in daily conversation.

It's a tragedy, and it's devastating. And let me preface what I'm about to say next by saying this: this situation truly breaks my heart. I would love to jump on a plane to Haiti tomorrow and do whatever I can.

But.

But how many people before January 12th thought about all the orphans in Haiti on a daily basis? Before January 12th, how many people in America, England, or Asia held fundraisers for this impoverished country? Granted, many, many people were going through the adoption process before the earthquake, but seriously? How many of us really sat around and thought, "I would just love to adopt a child from Haiti?"

Trust me, I understand that people respond when a tragedy happens. That proves that humanity is still, at heart, good. I understand that tragedies open people's eyes to the world around them and pushes people to act.

But why didn't we care before? And if we cared about Haiti and the poverty in that country, then why weren't we acting on that? If we truly cared so much, why weren't more orphans finding homes, and why were people living on the street?

Is it going to take another tsunami in Asia, an earthquake in Uganda, or a tornado raging through Appalachia Kentucky for the world to open their eyes to desititution and poverty?

I'm not saying any of this to be judgmental. And if it does sound judgmental, then I'm calling myself out as well. Because I know in my heart, I forget how blessed I am, and forget that there are people all over the world who are surviving on little to nothing. But the earthquakes in Haiti woke this nation and this world up...it brought this country and the world together, uniting us all to help a small nation who lost everything.

The unity and spirit of giving can't end. We must all be reminded daily that there are people all over the world who have nothing. Haiti was a poor country before the earthquakes, and there are many more countries like that around the world. States here in America are impoverished. Praise God that this world has felt compelled to help, but don't allow yourself to forget. Don't let a natural disaster be a "wake-up call" to helping those in need. It should be a daily thing, that we help those around us.