Cataclysm

“Cataclysm – Asia’s wall of water wreaks a disaster of biblical proportions . . .” read the January 15, 2005 issue of World magazine. “On December 26th, 2004,” the article continues:

. . . a 9.0-magnitude earthquake rumbled four miles beneath a Southeast Asian sea, waking a wall of water that within seven hours swept the Indian Ocean from Malaysia to Mombasa; swallowed coastal inhabitants by the tens of thousands, from lowly fishermen to luxury-class beach frolickers; raised the ocean’s table by nearly a foot as far away as San Diego, and – before it ended – caused the very Earth to wobble on its axis, to lose a fraction of a second and to force global positioning satellites into recalibration.*

“Some 230,000 people were killed and the livelihoods of millions were destroyed in over 10 countries.”**


You probably remember the tsunamis hitting Indonesia. Don and I cried and prayed and were convicted to give money as we watched the terror on the news.

The disaster rocked the world – literally. There was an outcry of help for the victims, and the next week, the same magazine reported that over 10,000 children were left orphans as a result of the loss of lives due to the tsunamis.*** That issue also featured an article about a family who had made adoption a way of life. The headline read “Adoption: How one ordinary couple with extraordinary compassion helped build an adoption-friendly church.”**** For the first time, God poked at a place in my heart I didn’t know existed. It was a small poke, but enough to get my attention.

I approached Don. “Hey,” I casually said, “wouldn’t it be neat if we could help out one of these children and adopt them into our home.”

Much to my surprise, he said, “Yeah, it would be.”

A passing thought chalked up to emotions for a group of children turned into one of our most adventurous undertakings.

Have you considered adopting? Are you an adoptive parent? What did God use to “poke” at that place in your heart?

For His Glory! Barb

*Belz, Mindy. “Cataclysm.” WORLD 15 January 2005: 20. Print.
**Shah, Anup. “Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster.” Global Issues, Updated: 07 Jan. 2005. Accessed: 23 Jun. 2010. http://www.globalissues.org/article/523/asian-earthquake-and-tsunami-disaster
***Vincent, Lynn. “Tsunami’s second victims,” WORLD 22 January 2005: 24-25. Print.
****Olasky, Susan. “Leading by example,” WORLD 22 January 2005: 22-23. Print.