Driving down Main St. and seeing rows of closed businesses, non-working traffic lights, and long lines of cars inching through town made me feel like a visitor in an abandoned town.
A huge, powerful storm and the lightening that accompanied it left part of Lansdale unplugged and powerless. No phones, no lights, no air conditioning, no computers—and for business owners—no sales. Buildings, however, remained intact and after a good long wait, power was restored. After this brief, inconvenient outage, merchants could anticipate sales on the following day.
Compare our situation to victims in the Heartlands and Southern states where monster storms left scores of towns with almost nothing. The news showed pictures of commercial buildings flattened and scattered, and residents facing ruined businesses and livelihoods. Over the last several weeks, the impact of tornados in states like Missouri gives unplugged and powerless a whole new meaning. Check out a video that captures the devastation.
It’s difficult to imagine how we would respond if our homes and jobs disappeared overnight. We experienced a tiny bit of what a devastating storm can do. Thank goodness it wasn’t worse. How did you fare in this last storm and what is your general attitude in the face of adversity? Be honest. Are you generally thankful or unthankful in dark and trying times—but more importantly—why?
2 comments:
I was only mildly irritated and hot. Then my boss told me she lived for a week w/o power and survived. i guess you can get used to anything, but i'm not sure you can get "used" to losing everything.... then there is the other extreme: i watched an interview of a man willing to wait out the huge wild fire out west. he had to sign a waiver to stay in his home; the fire was 3 miles away. i thought he was a bit crazy. he says he'll leave if he really has to, but sometimes it's too late. i guess if you make it out w/ your life and those of your loved ones (be them human or animal) then ultimately that should be all that matters: stuff is stuff. Sure I'd dearly miss all my dad's original artwork, but if my cats were okay, that would be my top concern. (not sure this answered your question!) For Christians this earth is not our real home, so no matter what we accumulate here, we will still leave it all behind one day (as will everyone else)---but we will go to the "house with many mansions."
I think that when you peel back the onion of why you behave a certain way, you're getting to the heart of your core beliefs.
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