What is the tie that binds?
A few weeks ago I took a team of men to Violet, to gut out a pastor's house. Violet is a community south of New Orleans right next to the levee. The total community had close to ten feet of water, and consequently every house and building was flooded.
Yesterday Ruth was standing in the checkout line at Wal-Mart where she starting talking to a lady who was a pastor's wife from Violet, a pastor's wife from a different church than the one I worked for. We have had some wonderful conversations with people while standing in those long lines. Once we open our mouths and say only a couple of Northern, unaccented, words they always ask, "where ya'all from?" When we tell them, they all want to know what we are doing down here. This opens up the way to good conversations.
Ruth and the pastor's wife got into a great conversation about people's attitudes while going through distressing times. Of course everyone else around them listened because what else is there to do while standing in a checkout line.
Now keep in mind that nearly everyone that you meet down here has lost nearly everything that they have spent their lifetimes accumulating. Household possessions, some have even had their houses swept away, cars, businesses, churches, schools, everything they hold dear, has been subjected to the wrath of Katrina, which incidentally means, "cleansing."
They were discussing the strong magnetic like hold that possessions have on our lives and the fact that Americans have subjected themselves to and sold themselves out to this illusive lust for things. When these things are taken away, they find themselves in a vacuum.
The beautiful thing we have noticed about most of the Christians, which we have met down here, is where they have their anchor. This catastrophe, for the most part, has showed these Christians the more important things in life.
Not only are Christians drawn together tighter, but churches have been drawn together and are working closely together. It is wonderful to be a part of the brotherhood of believers and work shoulder to shoulder with fellow Christians of different persuasions.
A few weeks ago I took a team of men to Violet, to gut out a pastor's house. Violet is a community south of New Orleans right next to the levee. The total community had close to ten feet of water, and consequently every house and building was flooded.
Yesterday Ruth was standing in the checkout line at Wal-Mart where she starting talking to a lady who was a pastor's wife from Violet, a pastor's wife from a different church than the one I worked for. We have had some wonderful conversations with people while standing in those long lines. Once we open our mouths and say only a couple of Northern, unaccented, words they always ask, "where ya'all from?" When we tell them, they all want to know what we are doing down here. This opens up the way to good conversations.
Ruth and the pastor's wife got into a great conversation about people's attitudes while going through distressing times. Of course everyone else around them listened because what else is there to do while standing in a checkout line.
Now keep in mind that nearly everyone that you meet down here has lost nearly everything that they have spent their lifetimes accumulating. Household possessions, some have even had their houses swept away, cars, businesses, churches, schools, everything they hold dear, has been subjected to the wrath of Katrina, which incidentally means, "cleansing."
They were discussing the strong magnetic like hold that possessions have on our lives and the fact that Americans have subjected themselves to and sold themselves out to this illusive lust for things. When these things are taken away, they find themselves in a vacuum.
The beautiful thing we have noticed about most of the Christians, which we have met down here, is where they have their anchor. This catastrophe, for the most part, has showed these Christians the more important things in life.
Not only are Christians drawn together tighter, but churches have been drawn together and are working closely together. It is wonderful to be a part of the brotherhood of believers and work shoulder to shoulder with fellow Christians of different persuasions.
posted by Jim Burton at 8:07 AM
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