The grief and loss of all the devastation in Rolling Fork, Mississippi gripped my heart.
I observed what a beautiful town it had been and to see so much destruction everywhere and the reality of how long it will take to even have a decent new normal.. Sometimes it was hard just to see it; heart breaking, just realizing what people went through. Numerous people I talked to or heard of crouched in a closet or shower, watched their roof being torn off above them, wondering what else was left of their house. They stepped into the next room and realized everything else was gone.
That’s not exactly an easy thing to endure. Can you put yourself in their shoes for a minute? Letting go of most of your earthly treasures; things of sentimental value is a lot. The memories held within a house and all the things it contains.. all evidence wiped away. And starting over takes a lot of strength.
I think of the children, too, and how many of them didn’t understand everything going on and the trauma that really anyone can go through in something like this, not knowing whether they will still be alive when this thing blows over.
What really blessed me though, was that although their loss was real, their hope was too. And it shone through bright and beautiful in the face of all the odds against them. It gave me a lot of good life perspective.
-written by a volunteer