Things I have learned from Katrina (well, actually from the Lord ;-) )1. We all have too much and we hold onto it too tightly.A great majority of Americans are too comfortable and have too much. I am too comfortable and have too much!We are too dependant on things and on comforts. We are a culture of "consumers", we consume and consume and it never seems enough. The people who had the least were the ones who were hit the hardest. We should hold onto things so loosely, we never know when our things may be taken away or lost. Too few, especially in the church, are willing to get dirty, to get a little uncomfortable. "If you have two coats, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."-John the Baptist2. We take so many things for granted- even people's jobs and the wisdom God has given people to organize and create.Driving through cities and streets and on highways, you cannot imagine the work that had to be done in removing huge amounts of fallen trees, the power lines that needed to be put back up. The tree removal service, the highway workers, the construction workers, the workers for the power companies. I was amazed at the all of the organization it takes for all of these jobs and how they even know where to begin. I was so thankful for these kinds of jobs that I had never given a second thought to before. I was thankful to the Lord for allowing these people to have the wisdom and creative knowledge that goes into all of it. It is so big. He has created us with amazing capabilities to organize and think and learn and do very complicated things.3. That I am a sinner saved by grace. This weekend I had many hours to think because the drive was so long. During the drive, the Lord reminded me of my sin. He reminded me of my old ways, my drinking days, my partying days, my loose morals in younger days, my lying, my pride, my ungratefulness, my sinful ways even to this day-- and I was reminded of His mercy. I was reminded that I have lived the same kind of life as many of those people in New Orleans- and by God's grace alone, I have been spared. There is no reason in the world that my city should be spared. I was and am deserving of God's wrath just as much as anyone else. All I kept saying to myself was it so easily could have been me. When I saw myself and was reminded of where I have come from, I saw that I was no better than anyone else. I did not bring myself out of my sin. God did that. I cannot say like the pharisee, "God, I thank You that I'm not like other people --greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." or "God, I thank you that I don't live in that wicked city", "God I thank you that I don't go around gambling and flaunting my sin"; no, I must say with the tax collector, "O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner". Jesus said: "I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."4. In all that I saw, in the big picture, I saw the glory of God. I saw His vastness, His sovereignty, how He is control of things. We cannot comprehend His ways. we have no idea the details that He knows. He knows how He is going to work in each life, in each home, in each shelter, on each death bed. He controls the wind and the waves. He is all powerful and mighty. He is showing His majesty through His mighty works- even in a hurricane like this. It is His orchestration. His symphony of sorts. He has things planned out accordingly. He is setting up appointments and offering wake up calls. "Do you see My glory? Do you see My majesty and my awesomeness? Do you hear Me calling you to Myself?" We must all bend at the weight of His glory and His ways. He is in control of the universe. We are not.In all, I saw an even bigger picture of God. I saw His vastness and His power. And I saw myself- as not worthy and a sinner. I saw that I am responsible for myself, MY obedience and doing what the Lord calls ME to do. People need the Lord. And many times He comes to them through compassion and mercy in His people.In His love, Chanin
