Pakistan Devastation
October 10, 2005  Ken Drummond

The devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan, Kashmir, and India is tragic. Over 30,000 deaths so far and counting, with thousands more injured.

It is heartening that almost every nation has pledged to help. Still we see that there is a lag in the ability of the world to respond. Most of the relief work is being done by hundreds of thousands of locals, by hand or with pick and shovel. Heavy equipment has arrived in some areas to help move large pieces of concrete. People are sleeping outside. Their houses have either been destroyed or they are concerned about the aftershocks.

What would it take to have a world ability to respond more quickly to these disasters? Surely there are limits. In an area of devastation such as the current one, there are simply not enough helicopters to be everywhere at once. And heavy equipment requires roads to travel. In this case roads need to be repaired before equipment can move in.

Sometimes we seem powerless before the forces of nature. When faced with devastation such as the current crisis in Pakistan and the recent one in New Orleans we are reminded that there is no permanent security on this earth plane. We must do the very best we can here, while remembering that our real investment must be in our bank account with God. The passing sights and sounds of this physical world are only temporary.