Katrina

Today is Tuesday, August 30. It’s been one day since Hurricane Katrina roared onshore around New Orleans. I don’t have to tell you how strong this storm was – most of us waited and watched The Weather Channel as landfall drew closer. And now, as the details of the devastation come trickling in, I don’t have to describe for you the magnitude of the destruction that Katrina has caused – it’s all over the news stations.

It’s a good thing that I don’t have to speak to you right now because words seem very empty. Those most closely affected by the storm – and even us who only received a soaking rain from Katrina – have questions that for now avoid answers. I watched a Yahoo! slide show on the Web of wrecked lives, wrecked buildings, and wrecked creation. But none of that got to me like a TV interview did. A station spoke with a local black man, who in his French-influenced Cajun accent told of climbing to the highest point in his home to escape the rising water, where he held his children in one arm and his wife’s hand in the other. As the water rose, she lost her dry perch, and the water began to suck her in. As their grip began to fail and fatigue set in, she looked at him and told her husband that she loved him. She implored him to take good care of their children, be a good grandfather . . . and she was gone.

At that point, the female journalist broke down and became pretty emotional. The interview ended abruptly, and I was left wondering if they embraced in the “raw-ness” of that moment. But beyond that, I felt a kind of self-preserving numbness come over me. I was glad the interview was over.

My questions, most of which are aimed at God, echo “how?” and “why?” Please don’t lecture me on the immaturity of those questions – I understand those are typical, knee-jerk questions in times of trauma that can be interpreted as a lack of faith. For now, I feel a little guilty that my family and my home are safe. It’s hard to feel blessed in times like these. And for me, today, it’s been very hard to pray. I know God is still God, I still love Him, and He is still on His throne. That’ll have to do for now.