San Pedro is a loving community. It has always been. I have seen the way we come together as neighbors and a community when there is a need.
Well, there is a need again…
Lately we are being robbed of the peace and tranquility that our island represents. That our very community represents.
There have been tragedies, there have been losses of family members, there have been losses of homes and businesses. Losses that have left us do bruised and empty, so full of hate and anger, losses that have left us so damaged.
It is time to rise up. The bible says that, “out of the ashes we shall rise.” We cannot allow ourselves to be overcome by our losses and emotions, we must find a way to forgive, to let go and to move on. Of course we will never forget the people we have lost or the homes and businesses we have sacrificed so much for, but we cannot let it damage or destroy this community or each other.
The bible says, “do not treat evil with evil.” This is the time to come together, to stand strong and to PRAY that our community heals and gets through all the pain and losses we are going through.
Losses are extremely painful. Whether our loss is a parent, a child, a brother, a sister, a family member, a loved one, whether it is a long time friend or even a pet. Whatever the loss is there is always pain, hurt, sometimes anger, and even questions.
Losses are not easy, the very word associates with something being taken away from us. But losses are inevitable. We will loose people we love and care for and things we have worked so hard for all our lives. I am in no way demeaning or undermining the pain that comes with such losses, but we MUST not let these losses and hurt make us become bitter, resentful, unfair, or downright mean. The fact is that we live in a world where losses, pain, hurt, disease, hunger, war, and unfairness, does exist. I can go on and on about the injustice.
Although we care for the world, we care much more for our dear San Pedro and our neighbors in it. After all, it is our HOME. Some of us were born here, some of us relocated here, some of us retired here, some of us work here; but we all LOVE it here. No matter how we came to live in San Pedro, it is our home. Our own Isla Bonita.
We have all seen the changes that are taking place in our beloved community. Families loosing children, loosing homes, their livelihood and means of caring for their children. We are experiencing a new era. An era of losses and damages, pain and anguish.
We cannot let this define who we are. We are a community that stands together, a great Melting Pot.
Jesus says, “there will be trials and tribulations in this world, but be of good spirit, for as I have overcome the world so will you.”
Divided, we cannot stand, but united we can conquer. We cannot turn our hate and anger on each other, we have to learn to wear forgiveness like a crown and start healing. There is a famous saying that time heals all, but let me tell you; time doesn’t heal, Jesus Heals. And the good news is that He is available to us. We must cry out to Him to heal our hearts and bodies and then once we are healed, our community will slowly start to be healed as well and restored.
Prayer, I have found, is a powerful weapon. And please believe that God does listen to prayers and He does answer them. Remember it doesn’t mean that bad things will not happen to us or to the people we love, but it means we will get through our pain and losses when we surrender them to Him.
Let’s start healing our hearts and souls by doing this, we then begin the process of healing and restoring our Isla Bonita, our community, our HOME.
A right heart is a good heart. And a community of good hearted people will bring about good clean, happy and prosperous results and restoration.
I know we cannot just go out and start cleaning up and removing all the things that are wrong with our San Pedro, but we can start by cleaning out our hearts. It will then overflow to each other, to our neighbours, to our “enemies” and finally to our community.
Let’s get this island cleaned and restored. Let’s begin with our hearts.
In Jesus’ Name.
/s/Name Withheld by Request
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