true grit

The human spirit is alive and well. Within the darkest of times, we are able to lift ourselves up and over obstacles we never thought we had the capability of doing. Hope lives under any circumstance. And it bubble-wrapped this amazing young man...for eleven long days, under tons of cement, with no light and no one beside him. Seeing him squeeze his shoulders past the rock and rubble, crawling on his belly to freedom, took my breath away. It filled me with emotion, fueled me with its gift, scared the holy hell right out of me and embarrassed me at the thought of my own puny everyday fears that hold no comparison whatsoever to all this brave boy had to endure in a horrifyingly claustrophobic hole of almost certain death. This 24 year old Haitian store clerk defied the odds and was very fortunate to have the stones fall where they did. But it's so much more than just cookies and soda.

His tenacity inspires me and the beauty of his single tiny life holds a light so bright..so precious..that within the grave of a 111,000 dear lives lost...it serves as a reminder of just who we are and the majesty within, the strong fabric of which we are made of as people, the difference we can make in each others lives and it cradles us at those times when we fear our hearts will break.

Cheers to this gentleman's brother who heard the taps and would not stop believing until he got the miracle he needed. And may we all surface through the worst of times like Wismond Exantus did...with remarkable resolve, a smile, by our own strength and unshakable faith and into the arms of someone who cares.