After the Storm
Source: Friday, September 15, 2017 from http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/us/hurricane-irma-aftermath/index.html . Widespread destruction from Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys
Day 91
Mike and I were married in the Keys. We had a double wedding with his sister Dawn and her husband Scott. It is shocking, and it breaks my heart to see the devastation that Irma caused. I am sure that Dawn and Scott feel the same way. I can't imagine how people in the Keys, Naples, Houston, Cuba, the Virgin Islands, and all of the places that have been affected by the hurricanes must be feeling right now.
On Saturdays, I usually start my morning by reading Richard Rohr's weekly newsletter. The link is below. In this week's newsletter, author and peace activist John Dear wrote, "It's hard to change the world; we can barely change ourselves. But God can change us and the world if we allow the God of peace to touch us, disarm us, heal us, and send us out as instruments of God's peace."
Change is always hard. It is easy to get set in our ways and fall into comfortable patterns and cycles. I have been praying for the people who are trying to pull the pieces of their lives back together after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. When a disaster strikes, I am sure that it makes you reevaluate your priorities. Your home improvement project drops down to the bottom of the scale. And so does the camping trip that your are planning. That report for work can wait. You need to make sure that your house is secure, that you pack a few bags and some water and food and gas, and get your family and dog out of town.
I am sure there is more to a hurricane evacuation than that, but I am just imagining what it must be like to be a hurricane evacuee--having to change your priorities so quickly. In some cases I am sure that families decided to evacuate at the last minute, and they had to quickly grab what was important to them and flee. It is like someone hands you a bag and says put the most important things in your life in this bag--the things that you cannot live without. Nothing else matters. Now go. The water is going to rise.
That would suck. But you would have what was most important to you. I hope. My friend Kat lost everything in a fire several years ago, and I remember that she went through a small period of depression, as I can imagine that anyone would. In a fire, you do not have any time to grab anything at all. And Kat was was not married yet. She still had her extended friends and family, but she felt like she had lost everything else. She missed her stuff. It can be replaced, but we are human. We are sentimental. We get attached to things.
I pray that I am never in that situation. If I am, I hope that I will hold on tight to the thread that I feel I am hanging onto. If we hold onto it, we can rest. We just have to trust that God is in control, and will not let go of the other side.
It is so easily to get focused our own little obstacles, and feel like we are the only ones in the world when there are so many people dealing with much bigger problems. Should that make me feel better? No. But it should help to put things in perspective when I start to feel like I am drowning in my own worries. I am not drowning. And I am incredibly blessed. But there are plenty of people in Florida, Texas, Cuba, and in the Virgin Islands right now who probably do feel like they are and for good reason.
So no more pity parties. It's time for prayer parties. Before my feet hit the floor this morning, I prayed for God to help me with any changes that I am going through in my life so that I can help others. I do not serve any kind of purpose if I feel helpless. But when I ask for God's help, I know that he will provide it if I trust him. Then I prayed that God would lead the hurricane victims through this storm. And I asked him how I could serve him today. So I decided to write this blog.
So how can we support the hurricane victims? We can support victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma by donating to the United Way at https://www.ccunitedway.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=10 . But most importantly, we can lift them up in our prayers.
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." Nahum 1:7 (NIV)
Source: http://email.cac.org/t/ViewEmail/d/5EE19264EC72B203/7FB00756F7AD0EEAE663AB054A538FBA