Do you remember what you were doing this week in 2005? I hadn’t until someone reminded me that it was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast early in the morning on August 29, 2005. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the people affected by the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage. I remember it because I was glued to the television for a solid week.
Hundreds of thou sands of Gulf Coast refugees were sent to areas of safety in bordering states. It was Labor Day weekend of 2005 that my husband and I were awakened by a phone call from our city emergency services director. There was a family of 40 (three families) who had lost everything in New Orleans. Could we help provide for their needs? We said, “of course,” before we learned just how extensive their needs were. We banded with 20 other city neighbors and church members and started feverishly gathering donations over the next five days. We found housing, furniture, clothing, bedding, toiletries, food, transportation, and sustenance. We worked day in and day out from dawn to dusk. It was hard, grueling, and very rewarding.
After all donations had been collected, we all (60) gathered together for a meal to give thanks and asking God to bless this family like so many others that had witnessed the devastation at the Gulf. I never saw members of that family again, but trust that our band of 20 citizens rallied to provide what they needed “for such a time as this.” I know I was blessed by the experience.
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Phillippians 4:19
Tagged: marriage, Texas weather
