OFFERING HOPE

I recently spent 5 days in Gulfport, Mississippi getting a first-hand look at the devastation of life and property left in the wake of Katrina. I listened to people who lost everything they had with the exception of the clothes they were wearing. I listened to people talk of experiencing God in the relief efforts as neighbor reached out to neighbor and people from around the country poured love and assistance into the area. I saw small tents pitched near the expressway in Pass Christian - tents that continue to house families that have been displaced for more than 5 months. I spoke to one elderly lady who slept in a hallway in her home because it was the only dry spot, and free of mold. I watched her wide smile when she received $150 in cash pressed in her hand, to assist her with living expenses and home repairs. Then within minutes I was told that this same 77 year old lady began to name people she would be giving the money to because their needs, in her eyes, seemed far greater than hers.

Too many people rant and blog about sacrifice. These same people talk about the importance of making a difference in this cruel and mixed up world. I happen to be one of them. However, this past week I had the opportunity and joy of watching a 77 year old emergent granny act on it as she has done countless times before...and all the while with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. I'm grateful for the life lesson!

Another thing I learned, is that any relief effort that does not include the hope that can only be found in Christ, is nothing more than a temporary band-aid...a band-aid that makes the provider/giver feel temporarily good (even proud) about giving the aid, but leaves the recipient in the same hopeless position they were before.

DOM

"I have learned that what we have done for ourselves alone dies
with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and
is immortal." Author Unknown