What is of most importance?

Written one week after Katrina made landfall

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, stories of heroism, strength, and determination are arising. But the pain is still there. With every photo streamed across the bandwidth of the internet, the pain is felt by even the most distant of onlookers. And it is in times like this when we find out who people really are. How do we reason in our minds the things we’ve seen and heard? How do we explain looting as a means of survival? Obviously, the rules of life change when situations change as they have in the Gulf Coast region.

Just over a week ago Pat Robertson, long time host of the TV show “The 700 Club”, announced that the U.S. Government should take advantage of their ability to “assassinate” Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Venezuela's Vice President Vicente Rangel in return called on the White House to vilify Robertson’s comments saying, "What is the U.S. government going to do about this criminal statement made by one of its citizens?" Another Chavez supporter in the Venezuelan parliament, Desire Santos Amaral said "This man cannot be a true Christian. He's a fascist."

On August 30, 2005 the Venezuelan leader and friend of Communist Cuba declared his eagerness to help the victims of Katrina. He announced his countries willingness to send clean water and fuel to the U.S. hurricane victims. We could make the argument that Chavez is only communicating a selfish propaganda, but the fact remains that he sees a need and is attempting to meet it.

One man in the fury of the hurricane learned from his wife what was of first importance. With her hand slipping from his and their house splitting in two, she told him that he could not hold her any longer and that his attention should be turned to their children. When real life dropped in like never before, and everything around them literally fell apart, they were forced to see what was most valuable.

At what level of danger or catastrophe do we realize how important our time with our family is? Are we too busy with worrying about politics and oil, or evil dictators? Do we get too caught up in our own agendas so that someone else ends up having more of an influence on our kids than we do? Or are we making the most out of our time with our spouses and kids? And do our loved ones clearly see just how important they are to us?

Just some questions to consider as we start another school year. God bless you and may God bless those caught in turmoil.

-Mitch