A *Little* Busy Here...

Emotions are rather strange here today.
Today is the 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and here we are preparing for another hit.
This time, it's GUSTAV.
Can my state really handle this again so soon after her?

Praying this morning with the ladies at the Dream Center, I realized just how much recent history has impacted Louisiana.
Several of the women who come to THRIVE on Fridays are survivors of Katrina. The fear and anxiety is apparent not only in their eyes, but also in the behavior of most people in Baton Rouge -- the frenetic shopping trips, gas-hoarding, and highly-emotional traffic (read: a LOT of wrecks).

We have sensibly prepared, but are we ever really prepared?

Before Katrina, my family bought a ton of steaks and burgers and canned goods to grill and eat after the storm, only to find that the searing heat and devastation of our state completely erased our appetites.
Not that it mattered anyway; with no power for 4 days, we ended up throwing away nearly $1000 in food (fridge & full-size freezer).
We became vagabonds living in our car, spending the greater part of each day driving around from place to place, just to be in the cool A/C. Nights in our house were nearly unbearable.

But we were BLESSED.
No SERIOUS damage to our home.
No flooding.
No missing or injured family members.
We still got to sleep in our own beds and use our own showers and lock our own doors.

Even now I am filled with guilt when I complain about our plight during that time.
What plight?
We had friends who opened their home to us when it became apparent the power wasn't coming back on anytime soon.

And we have friends who lost everything:
EVERYTHING they owned.
Can my state really prepare for that?

That said, I will admit that there is a new strength here that has replaced the laissez-faire, pre-Katrina attitude -- a determination that we will NOT be knocked down again.
Not this soon.
Not yet.
No.