Hurricane Relief

We had another rainy day yesterday.  In the morning, I sat with quilt group friends watching the clouds and the rain roll in while I did some mending and autumnal placemat making.  In the afternoon my spouse and I sat on our deep front porch:  he made notes for class, and I sketched a bit.  In the evening, the rain had let up, and we went to a neighborhood friend's birthday party.

I was struck by how many people I saw throughout the day who I came to know through my old school--at least 11.  Some of them I hired, many of them I supervised, all of them are still friends, although we don't see each other as often as we did when we worked side by side.  Most of them have gone on to better things--and some of them are doing very different things.  I find it hopeful.

Throughout the day I was conscious of the rain and although I was a bit worried about flooding, Hurricane Harvey was never far from my mind.  Today, too, I find my thoughts with the people of Texas.  We are hearing of people whose houses are so flooded that they're getting into attics or onto roofs.  I just heard an official recommend that people take an ax with them to the attic.  But I've seen more than one roof, and I can't imagine hacking my way out.

It's the kind of coverage that makes me think that personal flotation devices should be part of our hurricane supplies.  It's the kind of coverage that makes me think that my spouse's idea of putting southwestern style ladder steps on the outside walls or a spiral staircase outside might not be such a bad idea.

The pictures of what the wind ripped apart are dramatic, but because of them, we might not know that water kills more people during storms than wind.  And this storm brings a lot of water with it.

Some of us will feel compelled to send money, and money is a resource that gives the flexibility that communities will need in these difficult days, and the difficult rebuilding time yet to come.  There are many fine organizations, and some of them are faith based.

I recommend Lutheran Disaster Response--most of your donation will go to disaster relief.  Go here to donate:

https://community.elca.org/ushurricanerelief?erid=28798270&trid=79371936-ea58-4752-8cad-e854ac8c3c5d