That thing called "Normal".

For the last few days I have been glued to the television. Though I have no relatives or friends in New Orleans or Biloxi, it breaks my heart thinking of all of those people who are suffering and dying down there. I do have a friend that lives in Panama City and I wonder how she and her family have been coping with the many storms that have come their way. Of course my goddaughter is in Alabama so that was one of the first calls I made . All is well and Cass said they were without electricity a while , but that things are back up and back to normal. This got me to thinking what is normal ? Is it normal to sit here in my comfortable home and watch babies dying and elderly folks at the mercy of a kind stranger? Is it normal to watch my brothers and sisters dying on the streets here in the United States ? Yes, everyday someone dies and there have been homeless people for years on the streets of our cities. The sites I have seen in the last few days remind me of clips from Africa or Asia. And each time I saw the images on the screen I wanted to reach out and help in some way. I even called my husband at work and asked if there is something our church could do. Our pastor must have read my mine because it was less then two hours later that I got a call that there would be a special meeting at our church that night to discuss what we could do. When Marc came back from the meeting not only had they decided to send a monetary donation , but are discussing what can be done in the long term. I try to imagine what would happen if this happened here. I mean less face facts I live near the ocean. We are at risk each year from hurricanes and flooding. And each year we think ( just like I imagine those on the gulf coast thought ) that it will not be that bad. I don't think I will ever think that way again. It has also made me think about what is important to me. "Things" that I once thought I would grab if I needed to leave my home no longer matter. If my family left all in one piece then I would be happy. I thank goodness I have a large family that would be there no matter what. But what if all of us were displaced ? ( and this could happen ). A large majority of my family live within an hour to two hours of each other. How do we even prepare for something like this ? I hope that when we look at what is happening down South that we don't judge to harshly the folks that are going through ( maybe some should have left, but many others were in no condition to leave or did not have the means ).One day it could be us! Will life as we know it ever be normal again ? Honestly, I hope not. I hope this makes us think about what we can do differently. When we wake up each day are we only thinking about ourselves ? Maybe its time to think about the true purpose God put us on this earth for. Maybe now when we pass someone on the street that may not look like us we will remember that we are all one in the same.