Prayers To Tianjin

The explosion in Tianjin is an image of hell on earth when I saw the news report on TV this morning. Fires are still burning and death rates and injuries are still rising from what I read from a newspaper a few days before. It's a devastating event and heartbreaking to see though it's thousands of miles away. My mom has always been concerned about her home country and this news only devastated her. 

I remember I was in seventh grade when 9/11 happened while I was in class. The images on the television screen and the reports made me feel like my soul was sucked out of my body. My immediate thought back then was immediately on the children of those victims and families. Losing loved ones is never easy and especially due to disasters caused by others or natural causes. I remembered everyone in the school was so shocked and saddened by the news. Our principal asked all the students to write letters that would be sent to the families of those that lost their lives that day. They were all heroes. 

I don't know if it's possible to send letters of condolences to Tianjin and my Chinese letter writing skills aren't the best, so I'll send my prayers and condolences here. Those who know me well...know I'm an only kid and my father passed away when I was only two, my first grandma at 8 and second at 11, and my beloved aunt at 25. The pain and horror of losing loved ones is never easy to deal with or overcome especially if it's sudden. I'd never gotten over anyone of those that left me. It has always hung over my life like a shadow and a reminder of how difficult and cruel life can be. How it likes to test and force us to grow. 

I want to tell all those families that have lost loved ones in this horrible event to know that those who've left us are never truly gone. They are among us though we cannot see or touch them. They will be watching over you selflessly until you've gotten back onto your feet and able to move forward. They never wanted to leave you so suddenly and unpredictably. Their love will always be with you and in your hearts. Never forget their love for you, never forget what they taught you and the marks they left on your life. Carry that love, those lessons, those memories with pride and live the way they want you to live. As I've learned over the years, turn pain and sadness into strength and become a much stronger person and carry on their spirit and will. 

I gives my prayers and wishes to Tianjin hoping that the fires and explosions  will come to an end quickly before anymore innocent lives are lost. I gives my condolences and love  to those who've lost loved ones and hope that one day- they will find the strength to keep fighting. That the sun will rise even after the darkest night. There will be light at the end of that dark tunnel of pain, grief, and loss.