A DISASTER IN AUSTRALIA

I take no credit for any of the photos taken here, they have been gleened from various sources on the internet.

I woke up this morning and turned the television on, only to be met by pictures of Australia in the midst of devastation, this is only some of that devastation. Part of our land is in the midst of terrible flooding. Tragically there has been approximately 7 people killed and some 72 people missing, unaccounted for. The above photos are images of some of that devastation. I heard of a mother and her 2 children that were swept away in a car ... they are all dead. A couple of years ago we had the tragedy of fire in our nation and now it is terrible flooding. So many lives have been affected.

This morning a wall of water came through that was like a land tsunami and people had all of 10 mins to get out before it hit.

The images I saw on the TV were that of cars rapidly sailing through water, crashing into trees. A young man stranded in a tree, waiting to be rescued, thankful for the men nearby coming to rescue him. People sitting on the roofs of their houses, while helicopters hovered overhead, taking them on board one by one. I'm sure wondering whether or not they would make it to safety before the water engulfed their houses.

Many people will have lost their homes, cars, livelihood, livestock. They will have lost cherished memories, possessions that have taken years to acquire. Their homes will be nothing. They will have nothing and they will be lost and alone. The hardest thing to deal with will be the loss of life. Many will have lost families, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, children ... and that is the saddest loss of all .... human life. Material things can be replaced. You can buy a new house, a new car .... but you cannot replace your loved ones.

If anyone out there would like to help these people you can go to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal and make a donation. I'm sure it would be appreciated.

I am praying for these people and that they will have peace and safety surrounding them.

LET'S ALL BE THANKFUL

All photos in this post are courtesy of the internet and I take no credit for any of them.

Much has been reported over the past days of the bushfires that are devastating parts of Australia, mostly in Victoria, Australia. I know that other bloggers have also posted about the bushfires. It is hard for those of us that have never been in this situation to understand the devastation that has occurred.

Up to this point it is being reported that 173 lives have been lost.

Let us be thankful for the wonderful men and women who have sacrificed their time and in some cases their lives to fight these fires endeavouring to save the lives of others and property.

When we hear that many of these fires have been deliberately lit by arsonists .....for me at least there are no words.....what does one say when these people have such a total disregard for life. It is hard to understand why anyone would want to do this. It has been reported that police are closing in on someone in relation to these fires and one particular town, Marysville in Victoria, has been cordoned off as a major crime scene.

Our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said that they should Rot in jail.

It is as though some of these places never even existed. Lives have been lost. Animals are dead. Whole communities have just been wiped out.

What were once homes filled with Families, love and laughter are now burnt piles of ash lying on the ground. What was once filled with treasured possessions and belongings are now only memories.


So tonight when we snuggle down in our beds lest us be thankful for what we have in our lives. Let us be thankful that we have our children, our father, our mother, our parent, our home, our bed. Let's be thankful for the little things, like the chair we have to sit in and the pair of shoes on our feet. Let us be thankful for the comforts of home. Mostly let us be thankful that we were not subject to this horrendous devastation. That tomorrow we will be able to get up, eat breakfast at our table, hug our children or our wife or husband, and go off to work, or listen to music on our radio and even pat our dog or cat.


There are so many out there tonight who have lost so much and I for one feel blessed not to be counted among them.
Tomorrow let us all remember the important things in life: remember what matters most. Life is so short.