To say the past couple of weeks have been monumental for us all would be quite the understatement. We went from planning for a new football season to paying more attention to hurricane season than any of us wanted. Like many, I have been humbled. Not so much by the storm itself, although if anyone feels they have much control of the weather, they only need to look around to understand just how powerless we humans are when it comes to such things as the weather, or the “climate” as it were.
I have primarily been humbled by the immediate outpouring of love and compassion our area has received. After recently moving to Madison, I decided to ride the storm out a bit further north and stayed with a friend in Valdosta. I knew the storm would hit there, but I figured the impact may not be as dangerous.
During the storm, it was a bit tense at times (another understatement there). Winds in the neighborhood of 125 miles an hour will make things a bit tense. Aside from being without power for a couple of days, where I was staying escaped rather unscathed. Much of Valdosta, like Madison, cannot honestly make that statement. In the course of observing various areas of town, it was amazing to me the number of huge trees pulled up by the roots, seemingly as easily as pulling a weed out of a flower garden. Unfortunately, many of these trees found their way onto and through rooftops and across power lines. I also saw a crew from Mississippi Power working to help restore power as quickly as possible. As I passed by, I could not stop myself from shouting a sincere “thank you” to the workers. The response I received was simply a slight smile and a nod.
Later that evening, as we were sitting in the dark, the ceiling fan suddenly began to spin. I immediately said, “Thank you, God, and Mississippi Power.” I have seen many more people than just that work crew from Mississippi Power in our area helping other folks. I have seen powerful people serving BBQ dinners to folks they don’t even know by name. I have seen people who traveled many hours just to brave the North Florida/South Georgia heat in order to give something cool to drink to another person.
As I am typing this, I am listening to some old Up With People tunes, as I sometimes do when I feel like having my spirits uplifted. The song that was just playing was one of the more recent songs called “Shine the Light.” The words of the song really hit home with what I have seen over the last few days. “There are people out there who do more than their share. They reach out a hand, lift up their fellow man. Let the world see their fight, they’re turning wrong into right. Let’s all take a cue from the unselfish work that they do, and then let’s shine the light.
“It’s not impossible to change this world. Just start with you and me; every man, woman, boy and girl.” I hope we all can keep this spirit of helping each other, long after all the fallen trees are cleaned away.