WEEPING WITH NURDAGI
Earthquake in Turkey and Syria
A 7.8 earthquake is a devastating tragedy. What the people of Nurdagi, Turkey and areas of Syria are experiencing now is an agonizing, almost unimaginable reality. Parents, children, the dead, the wounded, the dying, those caught beneath the rubble, people desperately calling out for their loved ones. The mind is boggled by images that are simply realistic assumptions.
Having lived in California for much of my adult life, I’ve thought a lot about earthquakes. Even experienced one. But a 7.8 is a monster earthquake, and it rends the heart to think of the pain and suffering of our fellow human beings, as well as their animals, that are happening in Turkey right now.
I write in order to offer up a prayer, for those of you who wish to join me.
Dear God,
We know You know of the pain and suffering
that are occurring in Turkey and Syria now.
Bring help, bring peace, bring healing.
Send Your angels to those who suffer
and comfort to those who grieve.
May our love
Pour forth upon the people of Turkey.
Give them hope in their desperate hour, dear God.
Send angels to be with them on this agonizing day.
Send miracles, send hope, send love.
Amen.
Many thanks Marianne, for calling us all to prayer in the darkness that now reverberates across our beloved planet. It is 3:45 a.m. as I post this. After prayer and contemplation, I listened to a few of the news reports coming in from across the world, then went to the helpful link posted below by Mario
LeBlanc (which I recommend to all readers). One thing is clear to me, and I suspect to millions of our brothers and sisters everywhere, there is truly a paucity of capable diplomatic and political leaders in office at this time. It appears that none are capable of meaningfully responding to the natural and political disasters falling on the shoulders of the people today, especially in the Middle East.
From the seeming interminable war-- now in it's 25th year--between Israelis and Palestinians, to the immediate crisis in Turkey and Syria as a result of the terrifying earthquake that struck the region, worsened by a devastating civil war now entering it's 12th year in Syria. The crisis is multiplied by the fact that Turkey was already hosting 3.5 million Syrian refugees. The whole area is still reeling from the devastating effects of civil war in Syria, which shows no sign of winding down.
If there was ever a time for a "changing of the guard," I believe it is now. The longer I study A Course in Miracles, and listen for the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, the stronger my sense that God's "Big Heart Plan", which I can feel but not clearly articulate, does not point us toward Armageddon--nuclear or otherwise--but lights the path to peace, not only in the Holy Land, but everywhere in the world. I offer an excerpt to each and every one of us from this familiar prayer: "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace...where there is hatred, let me sow love."
Marianne, the world needs women's leadership more than at any previous period of history. You walk in the footsteps of two of our country's greatest spiritually inspired women leaders--Harriett Tubman and Sojourner Truth. The first black woman ever to address the U.S. Congress, Sojourner Truth, a former slave, stood with amazing courage and dignity and declared: "I done bore twelve children, and seen them all sold into slavery. And when I cried out, with a mother's grief, none but Jesus dried my tears." It is women, and their children, who have borne the burden of war and oppression for many centuries. Yet, it is also women who have consistently responded with care and compassion rather than violence. I believe women understand that meeting aggression with love is the only path toward ending the cycle of violence present everywhere on the planet.
For this reason, and because you are both capable and qualified to lead our beloved country on the path to peace, I strongly support your candidacy for President of the United States. Furthermore, I promise to do everything in my power to pledge whatever time, energy, and resources become available to me to support your candidacy. You are the only woman known to me who understands that the "Love of Power is not nearly as strong as the Power of Love." Sincerely, Marcia Bedard
THIS response is why we need you/Marianne as our President. 💕✨💕