Simple Kindness is a Superpower

When US airspace was closed following the horrifying attacks on New York, Washington DC and Pittsburgh, 38 planes were diverted to the small town of Gander, Newfoundland. The people of Gander welcomed over 7000 strangers with open arms, and a few days later, they said farewell to over 7000 family members. They gave them food. They transformed their local skating rink into a massive refrigerator. They took them on hunting trips. They took them into their homes. They cared for their pets (and two rare Bonobo monkeys) that were traveling with them. They drove over 500 miles to help a rabbi get home in time for Rosh Hashanah. They screeched in honorary Newfoundlanders. They cried with new friends who lost family members in the attacks. They filled peoples' prescriptions that were packed away on the planes. They creatively broke through language barriers using Bible verses. The list goes on and on. Their heroic and generous actions toward strangers inspired David Hein and Irene Sankoff to write the musical Come from Away. They also inspired Kevin Tuerff, a passenger traveling from Paris to Dallas, to found Pay It Forward 9/11, a movement that encourages people around the world to do random acts of kindness for strangers. Those acts can be simple or complex. They can be expensive to the giver, or even free of charge. But it's amazing how transformative a simple act of kindness to a stranger can be. These ordinary people became extraordinary when they opened their hearts and homes and did wonderful things. Without even meaning to be, they are real-life superheroes.

Photo by Sergey Peterman
Adobe Stock

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day. In that spirit, and partly inspired by the good people of Gander and Kevin Tuerff, I have been blogging over the past couple months about times people have shown kindness to myself and family members (and others). I hope this will help inspire people as they consider ways to make this world a better place and show kindness in a world that is becoming increasingly polarized. You may not be able to fly or teleport (though I'm still holding out for the invention of a teleporter), but you can do things that can make all the difference. A simple act can save someone's life.

A few ideas, with links to the post in question:

• The people of Gander, Newfoundland welcomed thousands of stranded travelers and treated them like family. 
• Kevin Tuerff invited me to a private viewing of You Are Here: A Come from Away Story with the people featured in the documentary, who also inspired the musical Come from Away. At that event, Beulah Cooper gave me a big hug. She didn't know me from Adam, but I happened to be standing next to her. 
• A few weeks later, Diane Davis of Gander recognized me at a performance of Come from Away and gave me a big hug.
• My friend Michael Kape generously let me use his frequent flyer miles to travel to New York, and he hosted me in his apartment and showed me the ropes of the New York subway, among other things.
• My amazing friend Barzin Akhavan blew me away with a massive hug. He also has one of the most gentle and loving ways of challenging me to consider ways that I could be kinder to others. That is one of his superpowers.
• My amazing former manager and team helped and supported me through some difficult times, and I was able to support them as well. We were like family. I miss working with them.
• Though we didn't know it at the time, people around the world prayed for my eyesight, and God healed an incurable disease. I can see today because of that miracle!
• The elderly Queen of 44th brightened many people's day with a simple smile and wave, and a friendly greeting.
• The Purple Lady marched to the beat of her own drum and was memorable in her kindness and purpleness. 
• Captain Beverley Bass, the first female Captain in American Airlines' history, gave me a hug, bought me coffee, and took time to talk to me.
• A gentleman who came out to the streets of Anaheim to support his church's women's ministry taught my friend Dan and me a valuable lesson in helping the poor by buying food for a homeless man.
• Another gentleman paid the remainder of my bill when I couldn't afford everything I had been planning to buy at a bookstore.
• My amazing friend Mio used his artistic talent to speak volumes to our family as we dealt with one of the hardest losses we had faced. He also went out of his way to make sure I got to keep a Christmas gift he could tell I wanted. Though he is about half my age now, I admire him more than I can say.
• A generous professor reimbursed my medical expenses when I had issues requiring a doctor in France. In fact, despite their stereotype, most French people I met were very kind and helpful. People say that the French are rude (and I don't doubt there are some), but that was not my experience in France.
• My friend Belinda volunteered to order groceries for me, including tea to help me sleep when I was having trouble falling asleep one night. She has also been inspirational in her advocacy for marginalized communities.
• A classmate at BCTI (Business Computer Training Institute) encouraged me daily by reminding me that "It's a beautiful day!" He reminded me that the beauty of a day has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with our attitude.
• A Thai cab driver took it upon himself to give us the grand tour of Chiang Mai, and he took us to places that were fascinating, educational, and not necessarily frequented by tourists.
• My friends Kim and Jason Kotecki, along with their amazing team, sent me a shining reminder to remember my dad. They, and their gift, are truly a light in the darkness.
• Their older daughter Lucy made some incredible winter hats at a reasonable price, and she has done more than most people her age to advocate for animals who need help.
• A stranger pulled off the road to change the tire on my mom's car, when she was desperately trying to figure out what to do about a flat tire in the middle of nowhere.
• Our neighbors in the Philippines took me in with a smile to wait out the flood waters. Many of our friends pitched in to save as much as possible, and to help clean up after the flood.
• A pastor in Boise, Idaho performed the marriage ceremony for a couple he had only just met. A new neighbor crossed the street to be a witness at my grandparents' wedding. Prior to their wedding day, my grandparents had never met any of the attendees.
• My inspirational friend Cara Tracy regularly paints rocks, and leaves them for strangers to find and be encouraged. She inspired me to do the same in New York. She also regularly posts pictures of things that happen each day to bring out the joy in her life.

These are just a few of the many ways that friends, family and I have seen people reach out to us. Some of them were very simple: just a smile and showing interest. Others were more challenging, and some of them cost money. Most of them were done by complete strangers, and some by dear friends. They are from different races, heritages and communities. They are black, white, Jewish, Canadian, Iranian, Thai, Filipino, and from other countries and backgrounds around the world. They are from multiple states. They represent multiple religions. At least two of them are gay. They are all superheroes to me. There is beauty everywhere. We need to find the good in people, find what we have in common (which I can guarantee is more than we realize), and celebrate our differences.

My friend Kevin Tuerff recommends doing three kind things for strangers in September in memory of the kindness he was shown in Newfoundland following 9/11. I fully endorse that, and would add that we can make it a regular practice all year. It doesn't even have to be difficult or complicated. I think sometimes we overthink things and then don't actually go through with the acts of kindness because it's too challenging and time consuming. It can be, but doesn't need to be! Just use your talents and superpowers for good, and be yourself.

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day. Let's go out and be kind to people! You never know how your simple action might be your superpower that brightens someone's day, or even saves their life!

Children of the Almighty God

I wrote this poem May 27, 2010 for a friend with low self-esteem. It's something we all struggle with from time to time, myself included, and it's good to remind ourselves of how valuable and needed we are.

Image by tomertu, Adobe Stock

My brother, you're a prince
My sister, you're a princess
And not just any prince or princess
But children of the highest King above all kings.

You're squires in His service
You're warriors of His mighty Kingdom
Ambassadors to a fallen world
To represent our great Father and to bring in more.
The glorious, almighty God thinks so much of you
That He gave up His glory and His life
To make you His beloved child.

So where did you get this idea
That you are worth so little?
You rank higher than the child of any human monarch!

Once we were worth nothing
Until the King of Kings adopted us
And made us His treasured children.

Compared to the Almighty God,
We are nothing
But in the eyes of the Almighty God,
We are everything.

Finding Joy and Rocks

Kamas, Utah, 2022. I had just arrived at the conference center and happened to look down at the ground to discover this guy smiling up at me:

I picked it up and looked at the back:

That could only mean one thing. My friends Paul and Cara Tracy had arrived at the legendary Escape Adulthood Summit, put on by my friends Kim and Jason Kotecki and their amazing family and team. Over the past couple years, Cara has perfected the art of rock painting, and leaving them in their part of Arizona for people to find and adopt. Now she had brought some of her joyful shenanigans to Utah. Further examination of the grounds revealed more faces smiling up at me, such as this guy:

How can you not smile when the rocks are smiling at you like that? I ask you!

I kept the orange one and let others claim the rest. Kim and Jason's younger daughter Ro had also left rocks of her own around, so I got one of those too. They now hold places of honor at my desk. I brought googly eyes that I left everywhere for people to find. Shenanigans shenanigated.

I found Paul and Cara, and after hugs all around, we talked excitedly. Their child-like joy is contagious. Cara (rhymes with Sarah) is a yoga instructor and speaker liaison in Arizona. Paul is Director of Operations at JusticeTrax, a software company specializing in forensics and law enforcement. He is also an accomplished Lego architect.

Left to right:
Kim Kotecki, Cara and Paul Tracy

As Cara has perfected her art and left rocks for Arizonans to find, she has posted pictures of many of them. These are just a few of the many:

Rocks and photos by Cara Tracy
Used with permission

Inspired by Cara's art, in addition to my friend Kevin Tuerff and the amazing people of Gander, Newfoundland, I painted rocks of my own last summer (some of them obtained in Montana in May) in preparation for a subsequent trip to New York. I was in Utah at the beginning of August, and the following month I was in New York. 2022 was an eventful year! I went with a Broadway theme. I trust they found good homes!

Rocks and photos by Steven Sauke
Left at the WTC, Battery Park, Lincoln Center,
Central Park, Times Square, and elsewhere in Manhattan
(I also left one, not pictured, on Staten Island)

In addition to her amazing rocks, Cara also posts daily pictures of things that make her happy. It could be her rocks, an amazing cactus, a picture of Paul, a heart she found in nature, her yoga practice, and a multitude of other things. You can follow her on Instagram at @azjoyfinder. Her joy is contagious, and she continues to inspire me.

Valentine Vows

March 1941. Ken was a young man in love. He had to been getting to know Marian for some time, and he knew she was the one. He asked and she said yes! He was able to buy a ring shortly thereafter in a fire sale at a local jewelry store. Plans for the happy event began. Unfortunately, as someone once said (and even sang), "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." 

April 1941. Plans for the wedding went on hold, as the draft caused upheaval and found him suddenly sent by train to Louisiana for boot camp. It was a lonely time, as the people he met were nothing like the people he had known back home in North Dakota. He clung to his faith and exchanged letters with Marian and family back home. In July of that year, he got word that his brother Melvin and Marian's sister Pearl were planning a wedding. Loneliness intensified. (Melvin would also go on to fight in the war.)

December 7, 1941 was, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt put it, "a date which will live in infamy." Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor, killing thousands, sinking ships, and throwing the US into the War. Ken's upcoming furlough was put on hold as they were taken by train through Texas to San Francisco, on to Pendleton, Oregon, and then to Boise, Idaho. It was during this time that he got a phone call from his beloved Marian. She had the chance to take the train to Boise! He was able to arrange with his superior officers to get leave to find her in town and help her find a hotel when she arrived in early February 1942. The happy couple spent time together when he was permitted to do so by his very accommodating superiors. Ken and Marian bought a wedding ring on Thursday, and got their marriage license at the courthouse on Friday. They had passed a Baptist church advertising a Wednesday prayer meeting, and the pastor's name and phone number were on the sign board out front. Ken and Marian crowded into a telephone booth and called the pastor. When they asked him if he could perform the ceremony, the pastor asked...

"When?"
"Now."
"Do you have a marriage license?"
"Yes, we do."
"Do you have witnesses?"

They hadn't thought about that. The pastor invited them to his house to discuss. They would need at least two witnesses. The pastor's wife would be able to be one, and as they were brainstorming who could be the second witness, the pastor's wife commented that new neighbors had just moved in across the street, and she could go meet them and find out if they would be willing to do them a favor. The only people at the ceremony who knew each other were the pastor and his wife, and Ken and Marian. The neighbor who came over met everyone there for the first time. 

It was Saturday, February 14, 1942. Valentine's Day.

That act of kindness to strangers began a long and happy marriage, though it would be a while before they would be able to spend much time together. They stayed together as long as they could until Ken's unit was sent back to California to catch the ship across the Pacific. Marian took the train back home, and Ken would go on to serve in New Caledonia, a small island off the eastern Australian coast. He would later be transferred to Europe, where he was part of the victory parade through Paris on V-E Day.

Sometime after his return to North Dakota, they had their first child. Four more children followed. Between 1973 and 1993, they welcomed seven grandchildren (the fourth being me). 1999 started a new era, as he dedicated his first great-grandson. Seven more great-grandchildren have followed in the years since.

Find someone who looks at you the way my
grandparents looked at each other in 1985.

They were happily married for 47 years.

The morning of November 7, 1989, Philippine time, my parents came in my room. Usually it was just my mom who came to wake me up, but I knew something was up when my dad was with her. They told me they had gotten a call the previous evening that Grandma and Grandpa had been together praying. When Grandpa was done, he waited for Grandma to take her turn, and she was silent. He looked up to discover she was too busy rejoicing at the feet of Jesus.

The afternoon of May 9, 2015, our family was gathered around his bed. He was moaning in pain. We each said our good byes. I asked him to give Grandma a big hug for me. My cousin Annika told him that she loved him, and he replied, "I love you." It was the last intelligible thing he said. My mom's cousin Nola arrived and he opened his eyes and acknowledged her. My mom was holding his hand and it went limp. Annika, a nurse, felt for a pulse and found none. My mom said, "He's singing with the angels." He was four months short of 100 years old.

I don't know how my grandparents' reunion went, but I imagine them running into each other's arms on the golden streets and dancing for joy, along with their son Robert, who was killed in a traffic accident in 1979. They weren't much for dancing in this life, but I picture them dancing arm in arm in heaven.

Perhaps they were joined in the reunion by a man whose name I don't even know, but whose kindness in performing a wedding ceremony at his house in Boise, Idaho for two strangers changed the course of their lives and paved the way for a long and happy relationship. A pastor who heeded the sage advice by the author of Hebrews (13:2), "Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!"

Kindness in the Flood

Cainta, Philippines (near Manila). That evening, we were gathered around the piano singing from a songbook while my mom played piano. We sang a bunch of songs we knew (folksongs, if I remember right), and then we found a very short song called "Scotland's Burning" that we didn't know until then:

Scotland's burning! Scotland's burning!
Look out! Look out!
Fire, fire, fire, fire!
Pour on water, pour on water!

The song was so absurd that we sang it several times, and I could still sing it today.

It had been stormy and rainy the past few days, but we were safe in our house, content in the fact that our driveway had an incline, so it was about 3 feet above street level, should the torrential rain cause flooding. In the past, floods had covered the streets, but never serious enough to reach the level of our driveway.

So I was a bit confused when I woke up the following morning, June 28, 1985, to find living room furniture in our room on the second level of our split-level house (there were about 2 steps between levels). When I went out to investigate, I was shocked to discover water streaming under our sliding glass door into the lower level of the house! My parents and our helper who lived with us had moved furniture and as much other stuff as they could to the second level as the water was approaching. If I remember right, they put the refrigerator on blocks. (I don't remember if it was ours or a friend's, but somebody's refrigerator actually started to float.)

Friends came to help

As the water was about 5 feet deep in the street, it was too deep for me to go out by myself, but with the rate the water was coming in, I also couldn't stay in the house! (At its peak, it was about 2 feet deep in the house.)

Thankfully, our neighbors came to the rescue. They had a much higher second floor where I would be safe. My dad carried me over to the neighbors' house, where they let me stay and wait out the flood waters, while the adults frantically worked to save everything they could from the rising water.

Our neighbors were very friendly. They had a sari-sari store on their ground floor; that is, a small family store with a counter and window. Customers come up to the counter and order food or anything else they want to buy, and then the owners go back and get it, and bring it out. Sari-sari stores were an amazing source of steaming hot rolls (called pandesal) and other fresh food, peanuts, snacks, and other items. As the neighbors' ground floor was also flooded, they had brought their wares up to the second floor, where it was safer. They also had kids, some of whom were younger than me. I remember the neighbors showing me how their dogs could swim. We went out on their porch, and they threw the dogs into the flooded street, and they swam back to us. (The porch had a stairway down to the ground, so that served as the main door in the front of their house, directly above the store.) People in the neighborhood used doors as rafts. Tall friends came over to help my parents with anything they needed. I was amused how some of them used umbrellas, with flood waters up to their shoulders at times, because we wouldn't want to get wet!

[Continued below the pictures]

At our front gate
(The place they were standing was above the street;
thus why the water doesn't come as high on them.
The picture at the top of this post shows
them standing in the street in front of our house.)

Once the water was shallow enough for me to wade in it, my parents got me and I went back to help out. As we bailed water out of the upper level of the house, we were singing, "Pour on water, pour on water!"

That's me on the right, helping to clean the gate.
My t-shirt said "You drive me Bumby's."
No idea what that means, but it still makes me smile.

That was also when we learned our street was on more of an incline than we realized. It didn't look like a hill, as it was gradual, but it was 5 feet deep on our end of the street, and only a couple inches on the other end.

So many people stepped up to help. As with most floods, some people were affected more than others. Some friends had houses on higher ground. Our neighbors took me in to wait it out, safe on their second floor. They did it with a smile, and kept everything as positive and fun as they could. Other friends came to our house while it was flooded to help out. Once the flood water receded, we had a bit of a work party to clean the mud that caked our floors and walls, as well as the car, and move everything back. We put mattresses out on the railings in our backyard to dry out. As difficult as the flood was, everyone's positive attitude was a big help. 

We were able to find humor. I thought it was hilarious that people were wading through shoulder-deep water (in some cases) and holding umbrellas so as not to get wet. The neighbors throwing their dogs into the street made me laugh. (It was safe, as the water was deep enough and the dogs were good swimmers.) The song we had sung the previous evening (about a disaster, no less) kept the tone light as we worked to bail water out.

We were working hard, and nobody wants their house flooded and property damaged. Even so, thanks to everyone's positive attitude and kind, generous spirit, it is actually a happy memory for me on the whole. I wouldn't want to repeat it, but it was a generally happy memory! It's funny how that works.

People sitting on the roof of a pickup,
which was mostly submerged

Mister Rogers' New Neighborhood

Fred Rogers was one of those rare people who was able to maintain a child-like spirit in a world full of grown-ups who had lost all sense of the wonder of childhood. He could always find the positive things in life, no matter what was going on. In scary situations, he advised us to "look for the helpers" (quoting his mother). He was widely admired across the globe. Our world needs more people like him, who show kindness to everyone, no matter their background, skin color, beliefs or anything else, and encourage others to do the same.

I wrote this poem February 27, 2003 after he passed away from stomach cancer. It is based partly on the theme song for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and mentions some of his puppets.

Mister Rogers with King Friday
Fotos International/Getty

He’s in a new neighborhood
And it’s a beautiful day up there
The streets are made of gold
And the lake is clear as crystal
He’s meeting new friends
And reuniting with old friends
And all the neighbors are bowing
At the feet of the One who made them neighbors
The One who taught them
How to be a neighbor

It’s a beautiful day in the new neighborhood
It will always be day in the new neighborhood
It will never end
No more need to pretend

He introduced us to King Friday
Now he bows before the King of Kings
He talked about Prince Tuesday
Now he kneels before the Prince of Peace
We learned about a tiger, a cat and an owl
He has now met the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God

He’s always wanted to have a Neighbor just like that.

Good Samaritan in the Big Sky State

Montana, early 1970s. A young elementary teacher taught at one school in the morning and another in the afternoon. That day, she was driving through the countryside on the icy roads, from one school to the other. She was on a schedule and had to get to class on time. So it was a bit alarming when the tire blew! She was young and had never changed a tire before. This was in the days before cell phones, so her options were limited out there in the middle of nowhere, in the cold.

Having pulled off the road, she set about trying to figure out what to do. She had to get to class, so needed to figure something out quickly!

Then it happened.

Another car approached, and pulled off the road. The driver, a stranger, got out and approached the stranded woman. She doesn't remember if they even talked, but he volunteered to change her tire. Once he was done, he drove off, and she never saw him again.

Photo by Vlad
Adobe Stock

That young teacher made it to class, grateful for the kindness of a complete stranger who happened to be at the right place at the right time. She wondered if he was an angel.

This teacher is still young today, but somewhat less young than she was approximately 50 years ago. I know her very well; in fact, she has taught me a lot of what I know. She and her husband would go on to have two sons later in that decade. They named their second son Steven.

Lucy's Lullaby

Lucy Kotecki is one of the most amazing and talented people I know, and she is currently a teenager. As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, she makes awesome winter hats. What I did not mention is that proceeds for those hats go to a charity to help horses. She has raised money in the past to help in the preservation of cheetahs. She and the rest of their family raise monarch butterflies, and set them free. She has a huge heart for people and animals. I want to be like her when I grow up.

I just looked up the meaning of her name. It means "light." Very apt. She is definitely a light to everyone who knows her, and to all the animals her efforts have helped and continue to help.

A few years ago, my friend Kim was expecting their first baby. They didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, and the child was taking their time in coming. Several days after the due date (and still no baby), I wondered if maybe a lullaby would help, so I wrote one. I originally called it "Lullaby for the Little Kotecki". After Lucy made her triumphant entry into the world, I renamed it.

As I don't have any biological nieces or nephews, Lucy and her equally amazing brother and sister are among my honorary nieces and nephews. Gotta spoil someone! 😀 Also, chosen family.

Photo by Natalia
Adobe Stock
This is not Lucy. 😀

Come out to the world
Come out and play
Come out--we'll chase the goblins away
Your mommy and daddy are waiting for you
And all of your friends can’t wait to meet you
Your mommy is brave
Your daddy is valiant
You have super parents
They’ll take good care of you

So come out, come out, come out to the world
Come out and explore the great world with your friends

Light in the Darkness

It was just after midnight when my brother got the call from the hospital. My mom came in the room, and when she saw him on the phone at that hour of the night, she knew it couldn't be a good sign. A few minutes later, he turned the phone over to her and came and got me. My worst fears were confirmed when we got into the kitchen and he said, "Dad just died."

The hospital wondered if we would like to come see him before they moved him to the morgue. I knew I needed to go. Once my mom was done talking to them, we gathered in a hug, the three of us huddled together in grief. We got dressed and went to the hospital. One of the nurses met us at the door and escorted us up, as it was after visiting hours. He looked much more peaceful than he had a few hours previous when I had talked to him and said my good byes (but in the hopes I would be able to come back the following day to talk more, and hoping and praying he would recover against all odds). A charity had donated quilts to the hospital for patients on comfort care, which the family got to keep. We gathered around his bed. It was an important part in saying good bye, but I hadn't expected it to be so soon! He went so quickly. We took his belongings and the quilt home. The quilt is now on our couch. We would get to see him once more, a few days later at the funeral home.

The jar
(My painting Le mont Rainier is in the background.
As it was December, we had our nativity scenes up.)

As friends and family heard the news, people started sending flowers. I got a big bouquet from my team at work. It meant a lot. But the most meaningful gift for me came from my friends Kim and Jason Kotecki. I have mentioned them on my blog in the past. Jason is a masterful artist who has done many amazing paintings. One of his recent paintings is called Hope in the Darkness. It has a mason jar on the grass with fireflies inside and flying upward out of the jar. There are trees at night in the background. It is dark, but the light from the fireflies indicate hope, bright lights flying through the air and providing their own light where there isn't much. (My blanket has that painting on it as well.)

Hope in the Darkness
Jason Kotecki, 2020
Used with permission

I picked up the box from them at our door and wondered if I had ordered something from them and had forgotten about it. It was heavier than I expected. When I opened the box, I found a mason jar with rocks in it. I was confused at first, but after a bit of examination realized what it was. It had semitransparent blue river rocks with fairy lights wrapped around the rocks inside the jar. It also has an on/off switch and a battery compartment. It harkens back to his painting.

The flowers we received were very meaningful, but that jar lamp meant more to me than I can express. I use it all the time before going to bed. In a way, it's almost like my dad is there with me, shining a light into the room. I miss him.

But their kindness didn't stop there. Kim and Jason's oldest daughter Lucy makes amazing winter hats. I ordered some at an excellent price, and she outdid herself. Jason's dad Walt (a cancer survivor and an amazing person) offered to talk by phone and be a comfort. All of that meant the world to me.

Kim recently lost her dad. I pray for their family's comfort and encourage anyone who feels so inclined to join me. I'm so thankful she got to spend time in the hospital with her dad before the end. We've had so much grief and loss in the past few years. COVID, international conflicts, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, shootings, cancer, and so much more. We all need comfort and love. The world needs more families like the Koteckis, who make an effort to reach out and offer a prayer, a hug, an ear to listen, creativity, immense talent, and so much more. Kim likes to talk about chosen family, who are not related by blood, but are as good as family. They are part of my chosen family.

There is always hope in the darkness. Even in the darkest night, there are always glimmers of light and hope if we know where to look. The Koteckis remind me to be the light for someone who needs it.

Tsunami!

I wrote this poem December 28, 2004 after the massive 9.0 earthquake and tsunami two days earlier across the Indian Ocean. It claimed over 225,000 lives in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Maldives, India, Somalia, Kenya and Seychelles, among other countries. The devastation was horrifying, and it claimed lives indiscriminately, from the poorest to the richest. Among the dead was 21-year-old Prince Poom Jensen (พุ่ม เจนเซน) of Thailand, grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช, 1927-2016), the third-longest-reigning monarch in history. The quote at the end of the poem is from Psalm 46:1-3.

This seemed appropriate to post now, in light of the recent devastating earthquake in Syria and Türkiye. The death toll for that is in the thousands last I heard. I can't begin to fathom the devastation and loss from either disaster.

Image by Viks_jin, Adobe Stock

The sun shone bright on the tropical sea
The palm trees swayed gently in the breeze
As the waves brushed softly against the beach.
Who could know what was about to happen?

His Highness the Prince set out on his jet skis
An old beggar asked for money to buy his next meal
A monk knelt before a statue of Buddha
While someone else, facing Mecca, said a prayer to Allah
A mother put her child down for a nap
And tourists lounged lazily on the beach
Snorklers took in the splendor of the magnificent coral
As the sun beat down on Asia and Africa

Then it happened.

The waves grew suddenly large
The rising water engulfed the beggar
As the trembling ground felled the ancient Indonesian temple
And the mosque collapsed in the force of the quake
As a great island shifted 100 feet to the southwest

The earth stopped shaking
But the disaster was far from over
The waves rose higher
Great walls of water threw His Highness into the sea
And dashed the snorklers against the rugged coral
The angry ocean crashed into the beaches
And took the tourists by surprise
3000 miles the water traveled
To wash away African villages
As countless mothers and children across the coasts of Asia and Africa
Were swept from their homes into the raging sea

The sheer force of the tsunamis
Lifted many off the ground
And hurled them far inland or out to sea

How many were lost that day?
How many more will be lost to disease?
Who can say?
But this I know:
God had a reason for this
May His Kingdom be advanced through this,
The worst tragedy of the young century

May this be our comfort:
"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging"

Let us run to Him
And take shelter in His loving arms
God will be exalted.
Praise His holy Name!