Pretending

I have to say that this week has just been weird.  Everyone is trying so hard to get back some sense of "normalcy"...but it will never be the way it was before...it just feels like we're pretending everything will be alright.  I know recovery is going to take time... a LOT of time...but it's already taking it's toll on everyone.  The streets that we can use are so overcrowded.  It took me over an hour to get to work yesterday morning and 45 minutes this morning.  I won't complain though...I am so very blessed.  Yesterday marked one full week since the tornado ripped through our beloved city.  It amazes how much a person can learn about themselves and those around them in that amount of time.  A person's true character is tested in times of trial.  I have to admit that God has used this circumstance to reveal ugly things about my heart that needed to be cleaned.  He has also used this time to show me a level of compassion that I never knew I was capable of.  God started a work in my heart a few months ago regarding priorities and perspective...I have seen a marked acceleration in that work while dealing with these trials and challenges.  When I say dealing...yes, there are some hardships that all of us are handling...but more so, I mean emotionally sorting through watching people overcome what may be the most painful experience of their lives.  A massive amount of people lost their homes, their cars, their pets, their job places, their school, and most importantly their family members...the list goes on and on...and so many of those people didn't just lose one or two of the things on that list...they lost them ALL... in about 1 minute.  In the time span of one minute everything went from orderly to looking very like a war zone.  I continue to pray for the people of my city and the other cities and towns of the south that were ravaged.  Praying is not the least I can do...IT'S THE MOST!