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Finally Home

Posted May 9, 2007 by James E. Nelson

We started to see the flooding in central Missouri. Several rivers that crossed U.S. 71 were over their banks. Crossing from Kansas into Missouri on I-475 the Kansas River was higher than I had ever seen because the cataracts had completely disappeared—a sight I had never witnessed. There was only a slight ripple to show where they were beneath the rushing water. Near the Missouri/Iowa line, I-29 was closed (we were detoured to U.S. 75 in Nebraska) because the Missouri was flowing over the top of the Rulo bridge on I-29. In Missouri Valley the water seemed to stretch for miles and it appeared that one of the truck stops was under water. We didn’t get off the highway to investigate because the on-ramp was under water. For the next few miles the Interstate was two thin ribbons of concrete just inches above the water. We watched the news in Kansas City last night and it was nearly all about the several towns in the Kansas City area that had been flooded. (No pictures. My camera battery was drained.)

That was the disaster we witnessed. We also heard ongoing updates about the fires that have consumed southern Georgia and northern Florida as well as the destruction of Greensburg, Kansas.

Since we were on our return trip from New Orleans, helping in the post-Katrina rebuilding effort, I was reminded of what Jesus said on a different topic, but still applicable: The poor will always be with you.

If we wanted to help someone in need we could have stayed in Sioux City. We could probably turn our car around and head for Kansas to clean up mud laden houses, push tornado debris out of the way, or sort through an apartment in Overland Park that was destroyed by fire.

At the same time, the destruction of the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are a different sort of disaster just because of the magnitude of the problem. The several Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the area have built well over a thousand houses since the hurricanes (that’s more houses than were ever in Greensburg in the first place) and Habitat is only one of a dozen disaster relief organizations working in the Gulf Coast, so you can multiply those numbers tenfold, and yet it appears as if virtually nothing has been done.

But this blog post isn’t a dirge in response to disaster upon disaster. Rather disaster is the backdrop of this post. There were complainers. Asheha, a single mother with three kids, was at the work site every day complaining about something and trying to stir the pot of discontent. The local news did show a few people in total despair. But those were the exceptions.

Most people were hopeful. The communities, from the Gulf Coast to the Missouri River Valley to the Central Plains, were energized by their tears. The last week reads like a Greek tragedy in which the best of humanity is uncovered and polished bright by the winds and waters of chaos.

Of course I’ve been almost completely out of touch with the national media, so I’ve not heard what I suspect is a litany of finger pointing and blame. After all, the media and politicians never change, so I’m pretty confident I can recite what they’re talking about this week.

But the media and politicians are a sick inversion of humanity, feeding on our lowest appetites in order to make a profit and get elected. Fortunately, that’s not necessarily an accurate portrayal of humanity. As Jessica Rabbit said in the animated movie classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, “I’m not really a bad girl, I’m just drawn that way.” No, while we humans are often “drawn that way” on the television screen and newspaper pages, we’re really not like that. We humans are a resilient creation, and we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And for those who have eyes to see, that is the clear message of this last week. Thanks be to God.