Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

 

When I heard about September Serve, I never imagined this happening. I posted two pieces on my blog Left of Self Center.   In these posts, I talked about how a hurricane can change everything.

Little did I know that Bolivar Peninsula would become an island and that all the towns on it would be virtually wiped off the map. One of the other things I mentioned was that a hurricane can change the pace of our lives. Anyone who has lived the past week in Houston has definitely had the pace of their lives changed. Yet despite all the hardships many of us have had to endure at the hand of this powerful storm, I find that so many good things happen in the wake of these storms. Yet I won’t use my words to describe it, I will share with you the words of my brother, Chet, in an e-mail blog he was sending to his friends when he came in from San Antonio to weather out Hurricane Ike with me.

“It was an exciting adventure.  We lost power around 5:00 Am  It was only really bad for a few hours, but it was intense.  The next day we went driving around and there were trees down all over the place.  It was like someone took a shredder and sprayed leaves and limbs over every yard and street.  Afterwards we got 12" of rain, and there was flooding everywhere.  Phones were out, electricity, no TV, or computers, and no cell phones.  The instant communication, information, and comfort were gone.  It felt marooned with no travel, no communication. Y'all knew more about what was happening than we did.  All stores and restaurants were closed.  No gas stations could pump gas because they didn’t have electricity.” 

One incredible thing was once the rain slowed, everyone came outside, talked, and they all started helping each other clean up their yards and reestablish order.  Everyone was laughing and men helped the single moms move branches, and several kids had brooms and were sweeping the streets.  Wow it really showed me how much modern technology has damaged our communities.  People turn to each other when nothing else exists.

I could not imagine 3 to 4 weeks in Houston heat and humidity with no electricity.  Now that is pure drudgery.  Well I was there for my family and the adventure of experiencing a hurricane, not drudgery.  So after extending a invitation of air conditioning and electricity at my home, I decided my career as a eyewitness reporter in the destruction of Ike was over.  It was time to go home.  I could not get home quick enough.  I am now in my cool home, with lights all around me, lap top in my lap, remote in my hand, cold beverages from my refrigerator, despising my neighbors who I have talked to maybe once or twice in 7 years.  I am just glad I am not in Houston any more, but I will be forever moved by the destruction I saw, the fun I had, the drudgery I experienced, and the community and humanity I felt.”

Point is this. Adversity brings people together. Adversity makes our faith stronger. The helping hands I saw being extended between people proves this.

Many of the people in the picture above go to either The Loft or attend services at TWUMC. We jumped out and worked to clean up the street and the neighborhood and help out our neighbor. It why I made many 140 mile round trips to Bryan/College Station to get people gas, ice, food, and information for those who couldn’t get it for themselves. We find out what is truly important when we lose things we put our reliance on: Electricity, Technology, Convenience, and so many other things that just aren’t important. My brother felt what being a Christian is really about. He felt what humanity is all about: a relationship with our God and one another.

By the way, my brother is the good looking guy in the blue shirt in the middle of the picture.

Brett Marko