At times like this, although I feel sad for the people hurt by the incident and would love to help in anyway I can, it also makes me grateful. Sometimes it's easy to go into self pity. I have had some health problems lately, but at times like this it is easy for me to see how much I have been given, how blessed I am.
When things like this happen it is easy to say "pray for the people in Nepal". Indeed it is easy to pray for those people, but then what? Now don't get me wrong; we need to pray for them. The death toll right now is about the same as 9/11 and it could rise much higher. Prayers are nice, but we need to do more than just pray. Any of us who claim to be followers of Christ must do more than just pray. So what do we do? I guess that depends on our abilities. Some with the proper skills might donate their time and go over there. Most of us though, will find a relief organization we trust and donate what we can, even if is just five dollars. Think about how many people could be helped by a simple five dollar donation, if that act was repeated by a million people. That would mean 5 million dollars would be going to help the people. Let those who can donate hundreds of thousands donate their hundreds of thousands. Just because we can't donate a lot does not mean we should not donate at all.
I found a story on CNN.com from yesterday that details orginizations that can help the victims of this tragedy. Here is the address: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/25/world/nepal-earthquake-how-to-help/index.html
Let us all do what we can. Praying is a good first step, but only a first step. Brigham Young once said. "We must get to our knees and pray like everything depended on God and then stand up and act like everything depended on us." Let's do that. We are commanded to love all men and say that we do. Now is the time to prove it. Now is the time for action. The time for talk is over.