SHORT ATTENTION SPAN

Yesterday morning I turned on The Today Show. I was eager to hear an update on the recovery efforts in Haiti. My thoughts and prayers have gone daily to this troubled island nation and its people. My church this Sunday is taking an offering for Haiti Relief. A few days ago I verbalized the thought that we might take a work team into Haiti to assist with the rebuilding. I already had my first volunteer.

My disappointment was great as none of the lead stories spoke of Haiti at all. We were treated first to story on John Edwards admission that he had lied about fathering a child during an adulterous affair he had while his wife was battling cancer. Next came a detailed story about Jay Leno's supplanting Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show following a very public and acrimonious battle. Then we moved on to mudslides in Southern California (no one had died).

The remainder of the hour was used in filling out the John Edwards piece. It wasn't until the second half hour after we had spent time with a detailed report of Tiger Woods entering a sex addiction clinic that we finally got to Haiti.

200,000 people have died in Haiti, 250,000 are injured and as many as two million are homeless. The enormous tragedy still has not abated. People still have only received perhaps one or two meals in eight days. Loved ones are still missing. Perhaps 100,000 children have been orphaned.

Americans have often been accused of having short attention spans. Perhaps because politics and celebrities have a higher priority than our needy neighbors--both in Haiti and at home. Don't let Haiti out of your mind. Keep praying.