Pretty Eyes - Tom McKinney

Sitting here wondering what life is gonna bring
Is my life going to end up like it seems
Can porch sitting really be my lot in life
Or is there a lot left in life after the fight

48 Hours - The Fall of Man

I've been thinking about the Hurricane disaster way too much. A lot of it has to do with me volunteering down at Reliant Park 4-5 times I week. I'm going to have to step back for a second because it's overwhelming.

Anyway, one of the new things I pondered recently was the time it took for the system to fail the people. When I say system I don't mean the police or whatever forces were in place to physically protect, even though it obviously couldn't. I'm talking more about the breakdown of the flesh. The old sin nature was in full force and control.

Within 48 hours of slight discomfort, people were raping kids, killing fighting left and right. Why are some of us so under developed that we can't handle even a little stress? Yes, the storm was predicted to be catastrophic. Yes, no one knew if death was at hand, but who does. There were people that left their houses the day before and died. If it was your turn then accept it. There was no need to tear people down and kill and hurt and whatever else happened in New Orleans.

48 hours, y'all. It just took 48 hours for the people to fall... to fail. There was no hope, no sense, no Jesus.

If you don't learn anything else about this disaster KNOW this... a lot of those killers/ rapists have no Jesus.

But, of course, there is always a silver lining. No matter how terrible this experience was, there were more than a few (maybe even a multitude) that did know Jesus. The survivors of Hurricane Katrina owe their lives to these spiritually mature believers.

The prayers of the righteous availeth much...

Volunteer Hours

I was watching so much hurricane coverage on television that I had had enough. I grabbed my bag and I was on my way. I just couldn't sit and do nothing anymore.

I have volunteered down at the Reliant Center for the past four days. Man, the days you spend there will really change your perspective on life and people and circumstances.

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about changes for the better or appreciating the people you have in your life.

My volunteer experience began with cot assembly. No evacuees were there so there were just a bunch of us putting the cots together, about 10 thousand of those things. This was slightly rewarding but I knew I had to do more.

The evacuees were patient with us and everyone was noticeably tired and somber as was expected in this type of situation.

On my fourth day I was back in the Reliant Center (the days between I was in the Astrodome). There is a noticeable change. Of course now the people are clean, and have just a little more energy. I was working in the food service line. First of all they can eat all day and as much as they want. Secondly, a lot of them are very nice and cordial and you can tell they appreciate what we are doing for them but there are a handful of people that just... ugh.

Why can't they put the plates in the trash can?
Why there are opened full cans of soda left everywhere?
Why did I see one kid come to the table, grab 3 bags of chips and then go straight to the trashcan and throw them away?
Why did a young man flick cookies across a table at me for me to toss in the trash bag I had in my hand?

Let me tell y'all, I was in prayer the whole time because nothing but the Holy Ghost kept me. lol

I know that this has been a terrible situation, unthinkable for most of us, but for real...

We can't expect them to do better if we allow them to degenerate during this stressful time. I expect others to hold me to a high standard, as I hold myself to an even higher one... so that I am never without a goal or expectations.

Catastrophes

Hurricane Katrina has totally taken over my thoughts for the past few days. I was inundated with breaking news from CNN and Fox News every hour on the hour. Updates were coming in so fast at one point I couldn't remember if we wanted to get them out of the city or keep them in. I was like wait, wait... what are we doing over here?

Since I heard the first utterances of this catastrophic storm I've experienced a number of different emotions. I was pondering my emotional/ mental states and I thought it would be a good idea to share, or at least document.

My first response was fear because all I heard was this thing is dangerous so mandatory evacuations were underway? Do I know anyone still in New Orleans? How long is it taking? Why are the highways moving so slow and causing bumper to bumper traffic? The thoughts swirling about were continuous and went from ideas on strategic planning from city officials all the way to wondering what possessions people thought were important enough to pack.

I went to sleep Sunday night with a heavy heart.

Monday morning the hurricane hit. I didn't check the news until early evening... I forgot. All hell broke loose in New Orleans.

Stories were flooding out of the city faster than my simple mind could properly process them. Murders, suicide, fights, rapes ***tears flow as my heart breaks*** babies and children are the victims.

Then the people in the city start to emerge. First it's hundreds then that number multiplies, exponentially. Now I have even more questions. Why didn't they leave? Why didn't the police make them leave? Why didn't the governor provide public transportation in the way of city buses to get the people out?

Before these questions could cross my lips the stories pour in again. There is murder and mayhem in the city. The lawless are looting (whatever!) and innocent, stricken people are being tortured. The police force is skeletal.

Where do we go from here?

What Ifs...

Of course there are too many what ifs in the Katrina disaster. What if they were white? What if they were rich? What if it was Florida instead of NOLA?

It is usually human nature to search for answers to questions but sometimes we get caught up in emotionalism and can't think clearly.

I believe that this disaster was a natural disaster. That's it. Bush had nothing to do with it. The only problem with Bush is that he wasn't quite ready for the relief. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who was disorganized. There is so much blame to go around in this whole thing that we just cannot heap it all on W.

What if the people would have evacuated before the storm. What if they had enough money to evacuate? What if there was more warning to plan the evacuation? What if the category 5 would have hit them head on like it was on course to do? What if the city officials were given the funds to fix the levies two or even five years ago?

You see... what ifs can overwhelm your thinking if you let it.

It is now time to move through this disaster, move on... forward. All we have to do is trust that God's will is perfect and make a decision, either we are with Him or against Him. With Him means accepting that He will never put more on us than we can bear and that He shall be glorified in all things. Against Him means every other option.

That's it. We only have a couple of options in this time of testing and I choose to accept this as I see it, a natural disaster and a test of my faith and I am determined to pass, this time.