Friday, April 07, 2006

Snippets and Soundbites - Dyer County

A writing buddy of mine sheltered a family this fall that had been displaced by Katrina.

Now, my friend sees the devastation of a tornado that ripped through her backyard. She shares her feelings, below.

"We feel a bit frustrated seeing so much devastation and not knowing what we can do to help. We pray and do little things as we can, but need direction for more. In the meantime, life goes on, and it is odd to ride down the road and see life continuing as usual. Kind of like how when someone close to you dies and you expect the world to stop, but it doesn't, and it makes you a little mad. But then, what else can you do? When you walk the aisles at Walmart and look into eyes of strangers, it seems everyone is thinking the same thing -- you were spared; you're still alive."

Pray for Dyer County.

Though an entire family was saved by a split second decision, many others lost their lives or family members or homes.
Another friend is in Mississippi helping with the continued clean-up from Katrina.

She writes, "When you drive into town at first it doesn't seem so bad til you look a little harder and see that every single building that hasn't yet been rebuilt is completely gutted on the inside by water. Then when you drive toward the beach and the waterway it gets worse, there are whole neighborhoods that are just completely gone, literally leveled except for trees and foundations. There are still dead animals on the beach because no one has had time to clean them up."

These little slivers of life are humbling. Sometimes I get so caught up in my life I can't see beyond my back fence. There's a huge world out there, much closer than we realize.

Hope your day is filled with blessings and truth.