My thoughts and prayers have been constantly aimed towards the northeast for over the past 24 hours. So many of my friends are being affected by Hurricane Sandy AKA Frankenstorm's wrath. It's a devastating storm and I cringe in fear at what horrors the next few days will unearth. The deaths and the destruction.
Many people think that I'm used to these storms because I live in Florida, but the truth is that you can never get used to them. It's true that Floridians are less likely to panic over a Cat 1 storm, but in the end, it creates the same sort of fear and trepidation in our hearts. Every storm brings with it the possibility of disaster. A storm that was supposed to be nothing more than a day of rain and wind with minimal flooding can all of a sudden stall and create days of severe flooding and power outages with a rising death toll. It's true that our homes are stocked with water, batteries, flashlights and canned foods at all times, but what good will this do you if the storm contains tornadoes that rip the roof off your home?
If God is good and you make it through the storm unharmed with minimal damage to your home, then you still have sometimes weeks of 'roughing it' with no power. In the north, this means covering yourselves with warm blankets. In Florida it usually means trying to battle the heat and mosquitoes. It's hard to keep your spirits up during these times. However, it's in times like these that the most amazing thing happens. Without the distractions of technology. Without the TV, internet, cell phones, etc we are forced to actually socialize face to face. Suddenly our neighbors, who were strangers up till then, are coming out to offer assistance. Suddenly entire neighborhoods are bringing their thawing food to the one neighbor with a working grill and having cookouts. Suddenly you remember what it's like to be a community and you remember how amazing and wonderful people can be.
So in the end, as with all tragedies, something beautiful somehow manages to emerge.
Many many prayers for those who have already lost loved ones in this storm and many many prayers for those who will be suffering in the aftermath.
