(This article begins a series of writings originally published in The Atmore News from September 2020 until 2022. There are some previous posts in 2020, but given the history of society’s journey, these provide interesting thought from then until now. Date: 09/22/2020)
Well, my wife and I survived our first hurricane as residents in the Atmore area. We’ve done relief work on mission trips in hurricane ravaged areas before, taking groups to coastal towns after Katrina. We’ve worked in post-tornado situations before in north Alabama, as well. We’ve even been in hurricane conditions while helping to lead youth camps, but we’ve never before had to concern ourselves with our church family, our church building, our house, and our friends and neighbors during a hurricane. It was different.
We learned a lot about our town and our area. The people here are resilient and reliable. We saw neighbors reach out to help one another, including some folks helping us. I learned just how necessary generators can be and just how heavy they are! (Thanks, neighbors.) We learned that the first seventy-two hours are on us. We learned the value of knowing a good contractor, and we are glad to have a friend in that field. We learned that Sally was mild and are glad we did not meet Ivan.
In addition to things we learned, I personally have some other observations. My first observation is that Sally knew no race, gender, or socio-economic class. She did not discriminate. We all equally felt her wrath. In return, I saw all types of people from our area serving one another for the common good of recovery. This is still taking place as we continue to dig out. (Maybe she taught us a lesson.)
Another observation I have is that no matter our affiliations and personal experiences, we need each other, and we need those who serve and protect, whether in the fire department, police department, Alabama Power, or Southern Pine. We appreciate all of these folks, as well as those who keep our streets clear and our water flowing, and other public servants. (Be sure to thank someone, today.
My final observation is that, although Sally wasn’t friendly and her presence wasn’t fun, we all forgot about masks, ballots, and the necessity to prove a point. Strangely enough, that was nice. It was a fringe benefit of a bad situation. Sally was almost a break in the clouds of the storm of 2020. Suddenly we had a bigger problem with which to contend and that drew us together for a few days. (It was even nice to abandon our politicized televisions for a little while, wasn’t it?)
Now, let me go all “Christian” for a moment. It can be this way all of the time if we maintain a proper perspective. There is a bigger problem that should always draw us together. We, who believe that Jesus loves individuals enough to pay the penalty for their individual offences against a perfect God, should always share the concerted opinion that the problem of sin and its penalty is greater than the lesser things that tend to divide us. We should always remember the big picture in proper perspective of a loving God and the offer of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our behavior toward one another should focus on the truth of the Gospel and should reflect the love of Christ so that those who hear us proclaiming to be children of God see us backing up that claim with our actions and words.
Nothing is worth prioritizing God’s love anywhere but first. Only God is worthy. We do, however, tend to place these other things ahead of him from time to time, if not day to day. This should not be. Let it not be. Let’s prevent it from being.
It’s amazing what a common struggle can do to unify people. A musician named Allen Levi wrote a song called the “Hurricane of ’96.” In it, he describes a community coming together, sitting on front porches to avoid the heat, cooking all the meat together and picnicking in order to not waste the food, and getting to know one another in ways they had not known before. They grew close and exemplified what could be or should be. However, when the electricity came back on, the people returned to their isolation. The end of the song contains a plea for another hurricane in order for that unity to recur. Now, I’m not pleading for another hurricane, but I loved what we experienced, and are still experiencing during this recovery time.
Perhaps, just maybe, we will learn from this experience and these meager words. I love living here among resilient and reliable people. I look forward to continuing to build unity together. I pray that all who do not know the Savior will know we are Christians by our love for God, for them and for one another. Thanks for our first hurricane experience, Atmore. Stay Atmore strong.
kevingarrett.org 