A man named Todd Starnes, whose political views I do not share, wrote the following article. I heard it read over the radio while I was on my way to work the other morning. It made me weep. There has been so much racial unrest going on lately. Even the KKK has reared its ugly head once again to public protests. Everybody is protesting something or other. In the midst of all the uncivilized racial noise, Hurricane Harvey rolls over the southern gulf coast and reminds America that we are better than we have been living. Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 130 miles per hour. Some areas received as much as 40 inches of rain. Flooding was wide spread and damages was catastrophic, claiming 45 lives in his wake.
At the end of Jesus' sermon on the mount, He said,
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
America is still standing!
Here is Todd Starnes' article that I heard over the radio.
Sometimes it takes something catastrophic to bring Americans back together - to remind us we don't have to be divided by our politics or the color of our skin. As we learned in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the flood waters did not discriminate. The dirty brown deluge submerged beautiful mansions on tree-lined avenues as well as rundown houses in the inner city.
The wealthy shared rescue boats with those on welfare. But in the face of great suffering - black and white and brown Texans pulled each other from the waters. There was the black law enforcement officer trudging through murky water saving two white children and the white fisherman lifting an elderly black woman into his fishing boat. One of my readers sent me a Facebook video posted by Jim McIngvale, the owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston. Mr. McIngvale told locals if they needed a place to spend the night – just come on down to his furniture store. “We have lots of beds, we have lots of food, lots of water and you can even bring your pets,” he said.
Louisiana's Cajun Navy, an all-volunteer armada, showed up in shallow water outboards and air boats – more than 150 strong. “Hang on, Houston – the Cajun Navy is on the way,” spokesperson Katie Pechon told me. “This is not a government operation – we are all volunteer citizens. Southern Baptists arrived to feed the hungry armed with giant cast iron skillets – filling bellies with meals – home-cooked with a dash of tender love and care. And deputies in Liberty County even helped lead a cattle drive - down Highway 90 - making sure the livestock had safe refuge.
Those are the stories and the images and the sounds that we should remember from Hurricane Harvey. Those are the moments that demonstrate the true heartbeat of the home of the brave. Yes - it's true the great storm washed away homes and belongings - but there was one thing the floodwaters could not destroy -- the spirit of this great nation.
