Discouragement

A man involved in reconstruction carries a load too heavy for his heart, absolutely convinced he was just profiting from the misery of the quake victims. 

The man suddenly weeps, realizing he's working to rebuild, and not to get rich on misery. Prayer, encouragement, and much-needed tears lighten his heart a great deal. 

A quilter lost many years of her work in the tsunami, and is still unable to even consider quilting again. 

But she can knit and crochet with her new needles. She says yarn and needles can keep her company until she can quilt again. She quilts from the heart. And her heart-pictures...

Later then. Knit, friend. 

A mom of four is alone with her kids. Her husband now works hours away because the quake eliminated his local job. 

She finds another mom to talk to. They share mom things that I will not understand until I have my own. Both moms visibly relax. 

Me. Hearing so much, tired and needing rest, seeing precious kids, wanting to stay longer, but realizing that August will end all too soon. Once summer vacation ends, so does my time with kids here in Iwaki. Discouragement runs deep and robs me of needed sleep. My thoughts are jumbled. 

My 1:30 AM e-mail to a friend is answered an hour later.  She reminds me to face what I feel and choose God's peace. Doing so buys me a few hours of sleep. 

The man still has his job to face every day. The quilter has more grief to process. The busy mom is still caring for her kids by herself. 

I still have no clear-cut answer. 

But God brought what each of us needed at that moment. Thanks, Papa. 

It's another Yokohama weekend. The encouragement continues, mostly in the form of reminders. God is faithful. This trip started on very short notice. There's still time. I've seen God lead before, and heard Him clearly. Follow and listen. There's more. 

That, plus some time totally away from the disaster (tell me what could possibly be less disaster-zone than a crowded mall), is reviving my heart. 

Pray that the other three discouraged ones I described are being cared for just as tenderly. 

There are many discouragements of many sizes. Mine is admittedly a much smaller issue than what those around me face. I am watching Papa God come alongside all of them, big or small. 

Many of the evacuees try to shrug off their own situation, pointing out that others have it worse. We make sure to acknowledge the difficulty that they are actually facing, and remind them that their own situation should not be ignored. Does pointing at someone with a broken leg heal your own broken arm? 

The disaster is old news now. Volunteers are getting fewer and fewer. The need is still great, and changing form by the minute. Longer-term volunteers are getting tired and discouraged. Four of our major players in Iwaki are taking long vacation time away to recharge right now. Does that tell you anything?

Please keep coming alongside. The discouragement and fatigue among the volunteers may look small beside the disaster. But it's real.