Michelle Boccanfuso from www.spirituality.com

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"Where are my children?'' she asked. ''Where are they? Why did this happen to me? I've lost everything.'' Of all the reports I read on the aftermath of the tsunamis in Southeast Asia, this one resonated so strongly with me. According to an Associated Press story Absah, a 41-year-old mother, was searching the city of Banda Aceh for her 11 youngsters.

My heart ached to comfort her, to hold her hand, offer some reassurance for hope. I felt helpless as I sat in my comfortable office near my cozy home and healthy family, full of expectation for a happy future. What did I have to give?

But my life hasn’t always been as secure as it is today. My world was rocked by the sudden death of my spouse a few years ago. The effect on me was cataclysmic. And the question, “Why did this happen to me?” ached in my core, paralyzing any efforts to raise myself out of grief.

For each hopeless story, she would silently pray.

My fight was one of spiritual survival—to overcome the hopelessness and darkness of my world. And it was the persistent, quiet effort of a long-distance friend that brought eventual relief.

This friend knew I was interested in spirituality and she actively prayed. Our contact was minimal, involving brief telephone conversations, often on inconsequential subjects. I could tell the most pitiful tales of woe and I knew that for each hopeless story, she would silently pray.

Though I never asked her to pray for me, I knew that as a thoughtful individual, she was praying to understand more about God’s goodness, a goodness so universal and powerful that no one could find themselves lost and without hope of good. Her prayer was a deep desire to relieve suffering wherever it is. Distance couldn’t interfere with that prayer.

I began to feel the effect of her relief efforts.

In the aftermath of sudden tragedy, basics like food, safe water, shelter and emergency health services are of urgent concern. But so is the basic spiritual need for reassurance of the presence of good.

I woke up to a better life.

Evil can seem so random, so gargantuan. I could write all day about how bad the bad can get. Many of us can.

But I know something else—something that comes from experiencing the depths of depression and loss and discovering something beyond the darkness. I know we each possess an inherent spiritual capacity to move beyond tragedy into light. I know that even one person’s selfless acknowledgment of the presence of good can have a beneficial effect on another. That’s because any acknowledgement of good is actually an acknowledgement of the presence and power of God, who is only good. Good, itself, in fact. And in the overwhelming light of God’s goodness, there just isn’t any room for darkness.

That’s what I came to see. Eventually I woke up to a better life, a life based on progress, on health, on joy.

I like to think that by emphasizing spiritual power, I can make a small contribution toward countering the effects of tragedy. I believe prayer has a ripple effect that extends into the world increasingly embracing the needs of others.

I can acknowledge light for Absah.