I am responsible.

Nine years ago, my sister traveled to Haiti for a medical mission trip. Her eyes were opened and her life was changed by the devastation and poverty that defines everyday life for the people who live there.

On that same trip, one of our friends accepted an invitation of a family who asked her to adopt their little girl so that she would have more opportunities in the US - their love for their daughter too strong to keep her in poverty. Today, this little girl - now in high school - desperately searches for answers and has yet to hear from her mother who was in Port-au-Prince the day of the earthquake.

This weekend, I listened to my sister's anguish as her thoughts go back to the people she fell in love with. Over and over again, she said, "I need to do something."

When things like this happen, we stop in our tracks for a moment and think about what we can offer to help. And we should help. There's a song by Brooke Fraser called Albertine in which she talks of her experiences in third world countries - the faces that broke her heart, melted her heart, and made it jump for joy all at the same time. One line of the song in particular keeps playing over and over again in my mind ...

"Now that I have seen, I am responsible."

It is my belief and conviction that because we are filled with the unselfish and unconditional love of God, it is our responsibility to pour that love out.

When we see a need, we are responsible to respond to it ... with service, with love, with grace, with peace ...

But how?

I think the answer to the 'how' comes in many different forms - all equally important. Our response to the needs of others depends on our capacity to serve at that moment and our prayerful obedience to the way in which God is calling us to serve.

I have heard many different people consider many different ways in which they can serve the people of Haiti - serve on a disaster relief team, donate money to World Relief, pray for the people, adopt an orphan.

Some ways in which people are able to serve may seem bigger or more obvious than others, but ultimately, they are all equally important. For my sister, we even discussed that her simply re-sharing her story of what she experienced in Haiti nine years ago may be the capacity in which God has called her to serve in this particular situation. We can't discount the power of a prayer or the impact that sharing a personal experience may have in motivating others to serve in their own individual capacity. 

So ... if you have the capacity to go to Haiti - go. If you have the capacity to adopt one of those precious children - do that. If you have the capacity to send a dollar - or a million - to relief efforts - donate. If you have a story to tell - tell it. What we all have is the capacity to pray - for the safety, recovery and healing of these people.

So pray.

These tragedies always serve as a wake up call that the world is bigger than that in which we live. It's bigger than ourselves. But I pray that it doesn't take an earthquake for us to see the needs of those around us everyday and I hope that it doesn't take a tragedy for us to recognize our responsibility to serve others as a response to the love our God shows us every second of our lives.