Hurricane Ike really slammed East Texas. The pine trees that give this area so much of the beauty that it is known by are twisted and toppled in many areas of the city this morning. Power lines and poles have been splintered and destroyed, as are many of the homes in the area. I only have minor gathering of limbs when I leave from work this evening, but many of my neighbors are not as fortunate. I went to my house last night to have dinner with my kids and take showers (gas water heater.) The heat was intense, and the mosquitoes were absolutely relentless. I felt a responsibility to my children to stand firm and unshaken in the midst of this terrible storm, but my world was jolted when I saw the devastation around me. The picture to the left was taken from the roof of a co-worker, and shows a couple of the 7 trees that fell on and around 4 homes that were side by side. Imagine for a second that you had 7 trees laying between you, your next door neighbor, and the two houses across the street from you. What would your state of mind be? His wife had just finished washing dishes when the biggest of the 7 fell through their kitchen. She stepped away from the sink and heard the crash. Turning around, she saw the roof compressed to the kitchen counter exactly where she stood only moments ago in time. I can only imagine.

What I saw this weekend showed me the tremendous resilience of the human spirit. During my drive home from lunch, I saw countless droves of people outside that were attacking their landscapes with intense dedication. Trees were being discarded, limbs were being gathered, yards were being raked, and lawns were being manicured. It seems that those that were affected greatly were in a hurry to put the wreckage behind them. They wanted to get on with their lives, and block out the memories of a terrible weekend. Power could be out in my neighborhood until Friday, but that did not stop people from dedicating their time to make things seem normal.

I sat in my driveway and petitioned God for power to be restored to my home. We have three children, and things are chaotic to say the least when we are displaced from our fortress of solitude. I saw neighbors that had power, and wondered with frustration as to why I was not in the a/c. I drove around, complaining to God of how bad I had things when he started to open my eyes. Luke 24:45 says "Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures." The story line of this passage tells of the return of Jesus, days after his crucifixion and resurrection. He came to the disciples and related to them the purpose behind His delivery into the hands of the enemy. I read this passage in the darkness of the evening, and it broke my heart into pieces.

How many times has God told me of the things that are going on around me, and my response has almost always been - huh? I can see with my eyes the rubble and destruction, but what should my heart see? What am I missing when I complain about the heat and strange smell in my house, when people in Galveston have had to combat 17 feet of floodwater? Why can I not thank God that my roof is not freshly ventilated, and my yard is not newly landscaped? Instead of having my little pity party, I should be praying and interceding for those that are not as fortunate. I should use this time to walk across the street and help my neighbor clean his yard, or work at the Red Cross shelter like my cousin - J-Mod - did on Sunday. Being a Christian does not spare you from disaster; it just opens your eyes to see the bigger picture when people around your are all suffering from tunnel vision.

My prayer today is that God will open my mind so that it can understand his words. I pray that I can have the right words to speak when my fellow-man complains about his trashed yard. I can hopefully provide an answer that comes from beyond my reach of understanding when he asks "Why did this happen to me?" In doing that, a little bit of the world that was dark can be reclaimed by the light. Are you willing to turn the light switch on in your corner of the world?