I cannot be in Houston.
Or, in Florida.
I cannot be in the Virgin Islands.
Or, in Antigua or Barbuda.
I cannot be in St. Martin or St. Barthelemy or St. Kits.
Or in Anguilla or Nevis or Turks or Caicos.
I cannot be in Puerto Rico.
Or, in Haiti or the Dominican Republic or Cuba.
I cannot be in Montana.
Or in Oregon or Washington or California or Idaho.

And, I cannot be in Mexico.
Or, in Syria or Jordan or Somalia.
I cannot be in Burundi.
Or, in Cameroon or Nigeria or Yemen.
Or, in any of another hundred places around the world which finds itself reeling from disaster or war or overwhelming need.

But, that doesn’t mean that I can forget.
Or ignore.
Or turn away.
Believing we are all, in some way, bound to one another my apathy adds to the devastation. My concern and heartbreak adds to the hope. I will reach out as I can. Frederick Buechner wrote, “When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are.” I will do my best to remember.