Friday, December 17

Restore us, O God;

    let your face shine, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:3)

Like people in many fields of work, those of us who respond to disasters and emergencies have felt especially taxed for several years now. Climate scientists say that not only should we expect hotter, wetter, more volatile weather here in the northeastern US, but that we are already experiencing that.

Hurricane Ida has certainly had an impact on many right here in Pennsylvania, and there have been countless, “low attention” disasters that have wreaked havoc on families locally.

In the weeks right after Ida I was helping to share clean up information at the Chester County Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC). Most of the people there were still without working water and electric systems at that point, and most of them were tired, but extremely gracious and to me unjustifiably patient. One woman I met there, Desiree, seemed especially strong to me and I asked her about her fortitude.

I was not expecting that the story of her strength would knock the wind out of me. She told me that about ten years ago, her home had been one of many that were targeted by arsonists in Coatesville. She lost her son and two grandchildren in the fire. That experience made her want to go back to school and now she works with children every day in public school.

She sees her work as a legacy of love to those she lost. She noted how blessed she is and how her faith has been strengthened. She told me she strives to work for the good of others in spite of the Coatesville arsons that took her babies and in spite of the flooding of Ida. Wow.

Restore me, O God of hosts, like you have restored Desiree;
    let thy face shine, that we may be saved. Amen

Julia Menzo is Director of Community Outreach for Liberty Lutheran and Lutheran Congregational Services, and serves as the Lutheran Disaster Response Coordinator for eastern PA.