Hurricanes

Seven years ago, I was in my senior year of high school. I had a government class which I liked quite well. My teacher really liked talking about current events, and we started class each day talking about them. Sometimes half or more of the class period would go by quickly as we discussed them. We also had assignments to read newspaper articles. One of the assignments, as I recall, required following a particular story for a week or so. I remember there needed to be a series of articles. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. For days I read articles about the devastation it brought. We talked about what was happening in class too. For probably the first time since September 11, I was invested in the news. I read about the levees, the flooding, the looting. I watched the news and saw the thousands of people seeking shelter in the Superdome. I learned a lot about Katrina and New Orleans, as much as I could. And I thought time and again, "Who on earth would ever want to live there?"

On April 1, 2009, I arrived in New Orleans as a new missionary. God does have a sense of humor.

Today, August 29, 2012, Hurricane Isaac is dumping on my beloved Southeast Louisiana. For the past few days, I've been reading articles, checking my friends' Facebook updates, and watching and waiting for Isaac to hit. Today I've been reading even more articles. My Google News page is an open tab and I refresh it frequently to see what's new. Since I started writing this, Isaac's been downgraded to a tropical storm. My favorite mission area, Houma, which has been in the eye of the storm for much of the day, is now getting rain, showing that Isaac's moving on, slowly. I keep checking for Facebook updates. I even looked on Twitter to get some updates on New Orleans. It's funny to think how invested I was in Katrina seven years ago. My head was fascinated, but my heart wasn't there. Now it is. So I'm praying for my dear friends. 

It's funny how things change in seven years. And how they stay the same.