Reconstructing A City Begins With The Heart

CEBU, Philippines - She gathered her children ages 6, 5 and 4 and brought them to the ancestral home. She brought everything including toys just so the children would find themselves busy. It would be long days of staying indoors as threats of a 10-foot flood had been too real to ignore. The house was big and she thought it did not seem possible that flood waters would inundate this.

Just as the children had been settled when she realized that one of the toys had been left behind. It was her daughter's favorite. She rushed back to her home to get it despite threats of a menacing flood. But before she could go back to where she thought her children would be safe from the flood when a big wave struck the house down. She watched in horror as she saw everything and everyone in the house ripped, engulfed to their watery graves.

It is hard to understand storm surge, earthquakes and typhoons. It is harder still to understand why a God, you thought is merciful, would allow you to witness the death of your own kin and children. The hysteria in Tacloban may somehow have subsided but the hysteria of the heart and the memories of hysteria are far from healed. Always the nagging question, why does God hurt good people? Or why does God include seemingly innocent children in His wrath? The best healing answer is in the Book of Job in the Old Testament. Job was one of the most upright people ever to have been described in the Bible but God allowed Satan to kill his children and take away his wealth. In all, Job is quoted to have said, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away." Indeed, the Lord also restores. There was one thing though that caused job to be restored to twice as much before the tragedy. It was because Job had a repentant heart.

In a moment of chat with Dr. Jesus Ravanes, he said that the exodus of the people of Tacloban to Cebu and other parts of the country is not doing good for the economy of Tacloban. He suggested that instead of relief goods, those in Tacloban should be given money instead so as to pump prime the economy. In many ways, Dr. Ravanes is right. There are now many Waray speaking people in Cebu and we see them when we commute, in department stores, in malls and in church. In many ways, they are doing the Cebuanos a good favor because they spend here. But then for the people of Tacloban to stay elsewhere is compromising, if betraying their own economy.

 Bigger Picture.

 Perhaps what people need is a bigger picture. That bigger picture is that the Lord who gave the flood, is the same God who can restore. The restoration may be in the reconstruction of the heart to see and recognize God more. Stories of those who survived the tragedy and hysteria in Tacloban narrate of how the people there took typhoon Yolanda lightly in the afternoon of November 7. Samar and Leyte have always been typhoon prone that when the storm surge and super typhoon as it had been described did not seem to make headway, people in Tacloban were quoted to have said in the dialect that the storm was "hardly a challenge." A couple of hours later, the floods came and ripped everything in its path.

Many times, we provoke God with our own carelessness. Many times we provoke God by our corrupt ways, by looting, by worshipping idols, by the kind of music we listen to, the movies and television shows we watch, the clothes we wear and by our wicked ways. One thing that could provoke God to anger are comments that "the Virgin Mary" and the "the Sto. Nino" saved them from the flood. We ought to be careful about attributions. The God who sent the flood is the same God who can stop the flood. Our God is a jealous God, wrongfully attributing salvation can provoke God to wrath.

The reconstruction that is needed is a reconstruction of the heart first. A reconstruction of a relationship with God so that God will give the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding how a town or city will be reconstructed. Before flexing a muscle, a blueprint in reconstructing a city may not begin with a nail, it may just be in reconstructing the heart first. Thus far, those who chose to leave and evade the reconstruction of the heart may have to prepare for another storm in their lives.