Saturday, June 12, 2010

take #28,973 on the oil spill

when i wrote 'to spank or not to spank' i went to bed with a sleep
chasing foreboding.  i think this piece is the one that will exile me
from blogland, though.

after the catastrophic '95 oklahoma city bombing, the desolation of
innocent life was boundless.  we could not wrap our minds around
the idea of retribution against babies and young children.

we heard heroic stories of the rescue dogs looking for victims, who
became so easily disheartened that their trainers would have to hide
their buddies in the rubble to be found.  this bolstered the dogs' hope.

emergency workers came from all over our great nation to help 'dig'
our state out of its misery.  these wonderful men and women were
greeted with the best 'chicken fry', apple pie, and hot coffee, saying,
in turn, that they had never met kinder, more grateful people.

we were very grateful.  i don't remember hearing bitter judgments
being shouted, but we certainly wanted justice, and after too many
years, the perpetrators received it.

this bp oil spill is different.

no one intentionally sought to hurt anyone.  unfortunately, too many
bad decisions were made, and now our gulf has been polluted.  the
loss of life, the inability of fisherman or even oilmen to work, and
the consequences to our lovely gulf are all devastating.

how did this happen?

one poor decision after another.  just like the ones i make everyday.
some of mine can have terrible consequences, too, by inadvertently
hurting those i love or don't even know.  have they ever caused the
desolation of an entire ecosystem?  probably not, but i would not
be one bit surprised if they did.

i can understand the outcry against the oil industry by our country
and the world but not by those who have been saved by His grace.
"there but for the grace of God, go i."  (john bradford)

love,
lea

ps.  on a much more serious note,  sunday lane is #5!!!!

29 comments:

Jo said...

Lea, you are so right. There are so many factors that go into making an accident. My Goddaughter's husband was on that rig and he was badly injured. No one wanted this horrible catastrophe to happen, and I don't understand now why there is so much finger-pointing and politicizing of it. And I don't understand, either, why the American government is not taking better action to clean up the beaches. People cannot look backwards, they can only look forwards. No one is taking any leadership in preventing the terrible harm the oil is going to do. It's almost as if they want to say to the past administration, "See? See what you did?" rather than fix it.

We sit here in Canada and watch it, and we just shake our heads. After more than two months, still nothing concrete is being done -- except mainly by local volunteers. It's shocking beyond belief.

The National Guard should have been there from day one, along with anyone else who could do whatever -- anything -- from minimizing the damage from that oil. But nothing was done. In the fullness of time, that is where the blame is going to lie, unfortunately.

God help all those people who depend on the Gulf for their living, and for their futures. And God help all the wildlife that is being killed. It all could have been minimized, and it wasn't. That's the part that really makes me angry.

Farm Girl said...

Well said Lea.

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

I agree. Errors were made. Let he who has not made errors cast the first stone.


I do subscribe to "if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." If human life had been involved, there would've been a huge response, immediate action. Makes me wanna go hmmmmmmmmmm......

A Tale of Two Cities said...

You are right on point, Lea. It was a horrible misfortunate accident, and in the scheme of this world these things unfortunately happen. It's our attitude towards those involved that sets us apart. All the accusing and misguided tirades don't change the facts or make the oil disappear any faster. Let's just pray that answers are found, lessons are learned and as little damage as possible is incurred.

Debi

Anonymous said...

Since we have clean renewable energy technologies (we're using them at our house), why continue drilling for oil?

Traylor Branch Farm said...

Bravo! Well put!

Cinnamon said...

Yeah for Sunday Lane!!

~Cinnamon

Parisienne Farmgirl said...

All the politicizing is disgusting... as if BP wanted this to happen, as if they are heartless robots that have no cares in the world.
How about our President still partying down and playing golf like it's no big deal... but he's gonna find someone's butt to kick... like that is going to help.
My heart aches for those people and I am mortified by the lack of leadership.

His Song to Sing said...

Looks like my post (and Karen's) got you going this morning, huh?! I appreciate your very kind response to my confession. I am in total agreement with your thoughts on the need for grace all around and the necessity of the receivers of His grace to set examples for others to see. If you get exiled from blogland for your thoughts, let me know where they send you because I'm going to join you there :)

Vicki/Jake said...

Sad sad sad....

Bree said...

I agree-YAY for Sunday Lane! Beautiful :) Bless you

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

Loved this post...so glad to find your blog...Will be adding it to my sidebar

Have a great Sunday

Jenny said...

I think it is good you posted this. I am from Texas though live in Holland so have heard lots of comments and ideas about the situation. Life happens. I agree with you. Let's just pray it gets fixed before the whole world defaltes!

Rosie said...

Lea...dear Lea,
My heart cries for this devastation, We as Canadian onlookers can't understand how this could happen. So, we pray, and He will hear our pleas ...for only He can fix our mess, and He will in His time...but I still weep... for those who suffer...rosie


#6 , ~:) , xoxo

Joan Elizabeth said...

I don't quite know what to say. I agree now is not the time for the time for the blame game it is the time for action and later lessons must be learnt to avoid it ever happening again.

KathyB. said...

I so agree with you in this post. We want to blame somebody, and a rich oil corporation is everyone's favorite scapegoat. But really, it is not in their best interests or anyone's for that matter that the spill is so catastrophic, and now, too late, we ask " why did we not figure out how to take care of a spill a long time ago"?

Good post.

Vivek said...

Hi Lea,

You are very correct on this Oil spill episode . Yes One doesn't do things with the intend to do harm ...things like these happens ..rarely ..or by accident.

But its a emergency situation so reaction like coming are obvious ..can't help util the thought process in put in place , before delivering the such statement ...
Anyways all is done in the ...goods of the Beloved people which is quite fair..



So Whats up with the FIFA Football World CUp ...Are you following it ?

Do reply back..

have a gr8 time

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

the whole thing is sad...the inability to get it controlled even now is pretty frightening. there are so many tough things going on in our world... it's sure good to know that God is still in control! and on any one of them... it could as easily be me...

Jenners said...

This whole oil spill situation just makes me ill at so many levels ... and angry too. It is amazing to me that this is still not even close to being under control. And from some of what I've read, it seems that BP is trying to keep outsiders from stepping in and helping out. At this point, someone somewhere needs to take action and get this under control.

Melanie said...

What a great point! Very well said... with compassion and humility. Thank you for sharing. :)

Melanie

Anonymous said...

Very well written, very well said. "but for the grace of God, go I." Congratulations Sunday, way to go. We are cheering you on. Annie

koralee said...

My heart is sadden by this mess....we need to take care of God's world and his creation...we are not doing such a good job are we? I am planning a post this week as well. Blaming never solved anything..I think we need a miracle and the help of Gods loving hands...thank goodness he is a forgiving God! xo

Rosie said...

Oh my dear friend, this is getting so exciting!!!!How ever do you stand it??? You must spend half your time in prayer...and the other half checking to see what # she has risen to...When do we find out the results?
Giddy with anticipation ...love Rosie

RA said...

The oil spill is a very sad episode. I hope the problem will be solved soon. On a more happier note, I hope Sunday Lane will keep on raising. She already seems to be a winner to me. Beautiful voice and song. Have a wonderful week.

Anita Diaz said...

Definitely, well said! Thanks for stopping by:-)

Vee said...

I'll not add my two cents its being your blog and all, but I will say that you're a brave gal for posting about such a hot topic.

Inday said...

Good morning Lea, just sneaking in my computer before going away. My time is hectic I know, but it's too freezing cold for me to start outdoor activity as yet.

You blog so things practical that happens to us everyday including making poor and bad decisions. I oftentimes talk to Him above, "why God we - humans - are always at fault? You give us guidelines how to live life so we enjoy your abundance and blessings incredible yet, none of us can do it uprightly and righteously through and through. We always stumble and so we take the consequences good or bad."

Anyway, thank you for the love and concern. I feel okay somehow - the resilience is still there and most importantly I have peace.

Thanks for the sending me the balm of Gilead. That's most helpful. :)

Gwendolyn said...

Thanks for addressing topics such as these. I agree with your Shelby when it comes to loving discipline! She said it well.

Henley on the Horn said...

You are so very right. THANK YOU for sharing this.