six point three -let's show Christchurch some love

Just over a week ago, Christchurch was hit with yet another earthquake, this one devastating - a shallow 6.3 magnitude, causing unbelievable destruction, and claiming so many lives.  So many people are still missing.  I don't need to go into the details, I am sure you have all seen it on your news.  I am not good with words at the best of times, and so now I sit here and have no idea how to say what I want to say.  I was born in Christchurch, my parents grew up in the South Island, we have family and friends down in Christchurch, and my mother was in Christchurch on holiday last Tuesday.  It has been an emotional time - from Shannon calling to say there had just been a massive quake, and then quickly texting back and forth with Mum, - yes she is ok, they just won't stop, house a mess, etc etc etc.  You could sense the panic and it was so horrible.  When she finally got home on last Thursday evening, well, I have never been so pleased to see her, and my Dad who drove down to get her.  Yet we are lucky, everyone we know is safe.  So many people lost their loved ones, so many are still waiting to hear news.  Everywhere we go, everyone has been, and will be for a very long time, talking about it - trying to make arrangements to get relatives out of the city, telling their stories, spreading the word on ways to help.  At times like this you just feel so powerless, it doesn't feel enough to make a donation, to make a meal for  family affected, to bake bread for another family, to give cans of food to be sent down to help feed so many displaced people.  And yet at the same time, it is those small actions that help us to feel a sense of community.  New Zealand is like one big community, and we are all affected, and we all want to help.  The response too from the rest of the world has been amazing, it gives me goosebumps reading about the help pouring in from around the world. 

It doesn't seem right that I have a shower, I drink a cup of tea, I cook for my family and wash our dishes - and at the moment so many have no clean water, can't have a shower and turn the tap on to get a drink or brush their teeth, can't flush the toilet, and many don't even have a safe roof over their heads any more.  It doesn't seem right, and yet it makes me so incredibly grateful for all that we are blessed with, and makes me realise how fragile life is, and how we must make each and every day count, and we can't let things go unsaid, and we must cherish those that we love.

If you would like to do something to help. you can donate to the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Appeal here.  I will be donating all proceeds from both Etsy and Felt shops for the month of March to the appeal.  If we all help out a little bit, it will make the difference. 

So how ever you chose to help, let's show Christchurch some love.