we're coming along

The loss and damage that extends throughout the gulf states of this country is beyond imagination. The overwhelming fear, anxiety, frustration, anguish, anger ... every emotion you can name ... floods through the people as surely as the wind, water, and debris flew through the towns.

So to see and hear of someone who lost his home to the storm, and his wife while evacuating -- putting this kind of time, effort, and heart into recovery ... and not just of his own life, but the lives of those around him ... is staggering.

It also reminds me that the things that inconvenience me, that take my time and money, even that cause some damage to my home or my relationships ... still pale so severely in comparison to the realities of life for hundreds of thousands of people in my own nation. (The struggles and stories of people throughout the world do the same thing ... but that is a greater issue for another blog.)

We have long heard it said that "Knowledge is power." I hope that's true ... it feels more and more true all the time. As I make the effort to stay attuned to news, updates, stories, pictures, images, reports, bulletins, requests ... and as we prepare to take a second work group into storm-affected areas ... I sense a growing power.

There seems to be an understanding that the 'system' cannot completely handle the problem ... couldn't in the moment, and certainly can't now. The way communities will survive THIS is the way communities have always survived ... by BEING community. By working together for the greater good ... by serving another's need before my own ... by doing whatever is needed whenever I can in order to stay aware, remain educated, remember to be grateful, and above all to care for another in their need.