Broken Heart

God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I’m sorry I made them.”
But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.
Genesis 6:5-8

It's difficult for me to ignore all the bad and the evil in the world. I've changed my buying, eating, and coffee-drinking habits to avoid child labor and the like, and to promote fair labor, fair trade, and what is ecologically friendly. I've provided free childcare for children of women or families in crisis. My heart breaks to think of anyone suffering.

In this reading about Noah, it is God's heart that is broken. There is so much evil - too much for God to bare. But, although heartbroken, God sees the good in Noah. 

Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to see the good while drowning in the stress and worries of life. One of my favorite quotes is from Mr. Rogers:

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.

I'd like to take that a step further - to be the help. It is always possible to help. At the very least, we can pray. 

When we're struggling to tread the waters of life, we can still raise our heads to see the Light. No day is one hundred percent bad, there is always one thing, one person, one song, one thought that can illuminate the good. We just need to see through the evil and the heartbreak to the good.