Jeff—Saturday
What a week. I mean WHAT A WEEK.
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| Houston area rainfall in INCHES |
Where to start?
Virtually all US news this week—at least that reaching us over here in
Greece on US TV—focused on Southeast Texas flooding, plus of course,
tantalizing Presidential touches like pardoning a partisan supporter, banning
willing soldiers from serving in the military, and substantially cutting taxes
for the yet to be determined. Oh yes, and North Korea.
Sort of makes you think everything is underwater.
As some of you may know, my son is a chaplain with the
Harris County Sheriff’s Department, which includes the city of Houston. He was on site for the recovery of the six
members of a single family (two great grandparents and four of their great
grandchildren, ages 6 to 16) who perished when the van they were in was swept
off the road into the water. May God
have mercy on their souls, and grant serenity of thought to the many torn apart
by what this great storm has wrought.
That is not a Houston or Texas phenomenon in times of
crisis. It is a tried and true, deeply engrained American trait. We saw the
same courage in New Orleans during Katrina, and in New York and New Jersey with
Sandy. In trying times like these we see
our true strength and values as a country come to the fore.
It is not a time for politics, polemics, or pettiness.
This is a time for reflecting on what brings us together,
not to hammer away at what drives us apart.
Let us find a lesson in how individual Texans are pulling together to
battle an unmitigated disaster, let us bring that sense of camaraderie into our
hearts, allow it to fill our souls, and pray that it serves as an honest guide to
what we all truly share as American values.
Amen.
And for those who wish to donate to American Red Cross
Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief, here is the link.—Jeff
