In recent days I have been walking with people whose lives have been turned upside down as they watch the waters of the Mouse River "roar and foam" its way out of the Canadian Prairies, into the States and down through towns many people had never heard of before. Swallowed up were Mouse River Park, Burlington, Minot, rural areas around Logan, Sawyer and Velva, North Dakota. Lost in this assault of nature were not just homes, not just possessions but also the illusion of safety and independence.
When word came that the river would be rising to all time record levels people went into a sprint mode. Friends, family and strangers gathered to empty homes of everything they could haul away. In some areas people began an effort to fight the coming flood with sand-bags and dikes. Some small victories were won, other efforts failed. Together, we now wait for flood waters to recede. While bodies maybe at rest, minds rush a thousand miles a minute, churning up endless questions: "Will my home be salvageable? Will I be allowed to re-build? Is my business gone? Will it be wise or safe to rebuild? Thousands of questions and frustratingly there are no clear answers.
As people of the Cross we have resources to draw upon in such times, an important one is lament. From the cross Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) If the Son of God can Lament, why not us, who are wondering where God is in the midst of all of this. Lament is an act of deep faith. Even as we question, rant or cry, it is God the Father who we are addressing. Giving people space to cry, yell, and question is a necessary gift.
Second, now is the time to give up our tendency toward independence. My garage is filled with every tool I need for home repair. My neighbor's garage is outfitted in the same way as are most garages down my street. Why? Partly because we don't want to impose on our neighbors, we want to be self-sufficient. Now is the time to graciously receive help, to allow strangers to care for us. Hundreds upon hundreds of people are not only willing help with cleanup efforts, but they want to use their God-given gifts to serve. People of faith understand that through Christ's death and resurrection we have been freed, set loose to serve others. Accepting help will be a gift.
Third, the "sprint" is over, we are now moving into a marathon. Water is on the main floors of thousands of homes, churches and businesses. It will take a couple of weeks for the water to recede. Then the slow process of ripping out sheetrock, carpet, and furnaces begins. Basements will have to be pumped, mucked out and sanitized. We are looking at months upon months of work, over that time many will experience an emotional roller coaster. Time to grieve will be important. As with any disaster, people outside the affected area quickly go back to their normal routines, victims do not. It will be important to continue providing resources, including helping hands, listening ears, and shoulders to cry on for victims of the disaster.
Last, it is the "least of these" we must be especially mindful of during times of recovery. Some people are gifted with multiple resources, such as finances, a network of family and friends, or knowledge of systems of support; others do not have these gifts. It is incumbent upon us to seek out those who feel they have nowhere to turn for help. My heart broke when I heard a television interview with a young mother of 5 who got out of their home with just their clothes and documents. It said to me that she did not know how or where to turn for help to get her family's possessions out of her home. Chances are she has now lost all of those possessions. As followers of the risen Christ we must do better.
In these days ahead I will spend lots of time listening. Cups of coffee will be offered as an unspoken excuse to get people to sit and talk, to share their stories. In the midst of that Christ will be present, this is the promise that we all will cling to with our lives.
Doesn't the bible say.............GOD GIVEITH AND GOD TAKEITH AWAY ....so not to worry.
Who's helping people recover? God
Got it ...
And I thought God was famous for sending a flood?
Who's helping people recover? Other people
Well, Ham screwed up the loading and missed the unicorns, the saber-toothed cats, the cave bears, the ground sloths and all the dinosaurs. Then Seth had a bit disagreement with the departure controller, and so we got this complicated route to some hellhole waypoint in Armenia. And it's still raining. But, the big man says we're not to lament, because apparently no-one in Gomorrah could even find a boat at all.
Damn kids. They load all of the fleas and only half of the sloths.
YOUR SMILE IS BRIGHT
BUT YOUR EYES ARE SAD AND LONELY
THEY TELL THE UNSEEN PART
THE OTHER HALF OF THE STORY
CHANGE COMES, JUST WHEN THE LIVING IS GOOD
HEADACHE, HEARTBREAK, DISAPPOINTMENT, REGRET
HOPES AND DREAMS WE CAN’T FORGET
BEING DENIED THE THINGS WE WANT AND LOVE
WHO SAID LIFE WAS EASY
IT WON’T MAKE YOU HAPPY
YOU MUST FIND LOVE
FIND HAPPINESS IN LIFE
YOUR HEART CAN STORE MEMORIES FOREVER
YOUR HOME, WONDERFUL PEOPLE YOU LOVE
WHERE OPPORTUNITY GIVES EXPERIENCE
WE MAKE FRIENDSHIPS
WHICH WILL BE FOR LIFE
YOU CAN NEVER BE LONELY
THERE’S A MAGICAL PLACE IN YOU HEART
FOR YOU ONLY
THAT COMFORTING PLACE
WHERE YOU ALWAYS BELONG
LOVE IS NOT SOMETHING YOU FEEL
LOVE IS A FEELING YOU KNOW
ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF LOVE IS TRUE
THROUGH THE GOOD AND BAD TIMES
BE THERE FOR ME, I WILL BE THERE FOR YOU
TOGETHER WITH GOD, REBUILD WE CAN DO
MISTAKES WE HAVE ALL MADE A FEW, SO
PRACTICE FORGIVENESS, DESTRESS, `TIS TRUE
LOVE AND HAPPINESS WILL SURELY FIND YOU
I WISH OUR HURTING BROTHERS AND SISTERS GOD’S PEACE
MAY YOUR RECOVERY BE SPEEDY AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOVE.
Copyright 2005 Iriedealsmusic
Are they right with God? Right.
Bishop. There's no doubt that faith plays a vital roll with some of us in asserting our charitable side. The error is in the assumption that those who are not associated with some belief system (by and large) can't be as generous, hard-working or charitable in the face calamity as those with a congregation and creed.
Some of that notion comes from the tennant that we are sinful and in need of redemption from on-high and that 'works don't matter'. Some of it has to do with academic and intellectual bypass. Intentional or not.
Most of us pitch in when others are in dire need, regardless of faith, lack of faith, lifestyle or homily
It's not about a return to 'faith', Bishop. It's about our ability to be truely human when others are in greatest need of our help.
Why is it that everytime a religious person puts out a call to be charitable, a non-believer has to try and find fault instead of just pitching in, in whatever way you find best?
Are you putting up a straw man here and needlessly creating a conflict?
I did not fault or accuse the Bishop of any more than concentrating on belief... the premise of his essay, in a time of crisis. I made it clear those WITH and WITHOUT creeds still pitch in. And I suggested that we DON'T need beliefs in higher powers to be true human beings.
As to your question of whether I am needlessly creating conflict? Absolutely.
Let's try to apply a bit of flood plain management and stop engineering with our wallets.
Bismarck is experiencing much the same. Garrison Dam on the Missouri is running at record levels. Nornally passing 35,000 cfs they are now passing 150, 000 cfs.
But that was not the point of the artilce by Bishop Narum. He was simply stating what he as a church representative was hearing. the disaster is happening and whether people lived in the wrong place or not, they are hurt financially, emotionally, and Spiritually. It is his job to point this out and call for help. Lutheran Disastrer Response is in place to help residents clean up, an no affiliation with a religion is required. Bishop Narum was speaking for His church body and for Christians in general. He never excluded anyone.
FYI: I live in Minneapolis and I travel to that area several times a year and I have several relatives and friends from Bismarck, Fargo, Minot, and the surrounding farm country.
All my points are valid. The "Normal" flood plain has been significantly altered by man which makes flood more devastating and longer lasting.
Using your god-given gifts to clean up after a god-given flood -- Irony in a nutshell.
Don't forget greed as well. Greed can have a remarkable effect on wind speed, the amount of rain which falls (or doesn't) and the movement of tectonic plates.
It's just us.
We have to do it ourselves.
No amount of magical thinking will change that.
There is no other way.
If you're asking, what's the point of life, you're asking the 'big question'.
But there is an answer.
The point of YOUR life is whatever you want it to be. YOU have to make the choice of why and how YOU want to live. If YOU give that choice away for somebody else to make, YOU have made a mistake.
Remember, YOU are responsible for who and what you are.
It makes me laugh when people talk about their imaginary friends: "No really, it's a being that's supernatural, all-knowing, all-powerful, and was able to create the ENTIRE universe without any help... oh yeah, and he's male." Say what? Your all-powerful universe-creating magical being has to have a gender??
Whatever is sown will come back to the sower, later than it's sown, more than is sown. From the sound of this post there is a great and terrible harvest coming.
So Sally what have you been sowing lately?