Something I have noticed since Hurricane Gustav visited us last week is just how much a distraction from the routine can throw everything off-balance not only in our personal lives, but in the lives of our friends, families, places of employment, and our community at large. I have been fascinated to see how quickly the people of this area went about cleaning up their debris, helping one another with basic needs, and doing their best to get back to normal as soon as possible.
The thing is, do things truly ever return to the way they were? As part of visiting with a number of you, and others around town, I heard again stories of Andrew, Betsy, and other hurricanes that have visited our area. And, inevitably, along with the stories of previous hurricanes are stories of how something changed during or in the aftermath of a particular storm, and although it eventually became part of the new routine, it was a lasting change.
Change is hard. Change is not something we do very well. Change is something we resist with everything we have on many occasions. However, the reality is that after much initial grumbling and unease in transition, we adapt, adjust, and move on with life in new ways (more often than we think, to be honest). The great thing about the Christian faith, being a disciple of Christ and a member of the community of faith, is that while there is no more violent or radical change that we will face than the change from a life focused on self to a life focused on Christ and his will, there is nothing that will seem more normal when we get through the initial adjustment period and have allowed God to clean up the resulting debris from the transformation of our lives.
Just something to think about as we continue to clean up and move forward. My prayer is that for each of us, we realize that the most massive cleanup effort is not done by the work of humanity, but by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
See You Sunday!
Lamar
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