We become too easily desensitized to news of natural disasters. After all, they are inevitable and even the most sensational stories of crime, neglect or ineptitude have become all too commonplace. When entire towns are ravaged by tornadoes or firestorms, however, it's hard to ignore the plight of thousands of victims. That's what happened over this past week.
In the United States, 20 homes were destroyed and another 200 damaged after an EF-3 tornado smashed through Redding, Kan. In Canada, an entire town of 7,000 was evacuated as a result of a violent firestorm, driven by 100 kilometre per hour winds (60 mph). In that conflagration, more than a third of the town of Slave Lake, Alta. was destroyed including hundreds of homes, churches and businesses still smouldering in the aftermath.
In trying to visualize what that must mean, I keep thinking about the things that would need replacing had it been us. For starters, there are socks and shoes, stoves and washers, carpentry tools and vehicles. Volunteers and donations are wonderful but some things don't come from goodwill i.e. passports, medical and credit cards, priceless photos, marriage and drivers licences and contact information for those hundreds of people in our computer data bases. Wouldn't it be great if every person (including me) made sure those valuable documents were protected, duplicated, or stored in an alternative location?
Under King David's leadership, " certain of the Levites [were appointed] to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel." (I Chronicles 16:4)
As I recently reviewed more than 500 of these weekly articles, I decided to subdivide them into categories, compile them and make them into a series of books recalling things worth remembering. Realizing how much would be lost reminded me of the uncertainty of life and the need to preserve those things that matter most.
Would you be interested in buying such a book? I'd love to hear from you. More information: [email protected]
Thanks!
