Nebraska Nice

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13. 

The snow pack related flooding this spring has been an overwhelming and often heartbreaking event for many Nebraskans. If you have turned on the television or picked up the newspaper in the last week there are countless stories – farmers who have lost equipment, animals and loved ones, retirees who researched and planned and bought land outside of the marked flood plains only to lose everything, first responders and law enforcement officials who have stayed in evacuated communities to take care of animals left behind and communicate with state and national disaster response teams. 

Over the weekend our house was abuzz with what kinds of things we can do to help. With local agencies collecting “essential” items (toilet paper, bottled water and canned food), the American Red Cross providing temporary shelter, and Lincoln’s Search and Rescue Squad working as part of the evacuation team it can be hard to think of other things that can be done.  Certainly we can pray for those affected.  We can give to local and worldwide organizations that will be available for help, like our own Presbyterian Disaster Relief Fund.  We can limit our water use, to make sure that those keeping our water clean can recover from the damages associated with the flooding, and also for the increased demand for these neighboring “refugees” who have arrived in Lincoln and other cities that have been less impacted by the flooding.  And we can put on our Nebraska Nice and make offers to those we know who have been directly impacted.      

I can’t imagine what it would be like to leave my home under an evacuation order. I can’t imagine staying in a hotel or a shelter and waiting to hear that I can return to see what is left. I can’t imagine what it is like to think about all that has been lost, a home full of memories, livestock that ranchers rely on for income, family members who were unable to get out, schools and libraries that families and communities rely on, and churches, that will now need to take their funds and invest them into re-building. There are so many challenges created by the unexpected disasters in our world. 

Prayer: All knowing God, please be with those who are distraught and afraid during this time of disaster. Help us to see the things that we can share with others and encourage our hospitality to provide for those we know who have lost things we cannot imagine and strangers who are in need of so much.  Amen.    

Christi Moock