A Chance to be a Neighbor

I am wanting to take time once again to share my thoughts and views of whats happened to our area just 2 weeks ago. Ryan and I took time today to help feed 1000 or more people who drove by in their cars by a FEMA pod area so we could help serve a hot lunch on their way to pick up free ice and water and cleaning supplies. It was so good to be serving hands to these hurricane victims who lost so much. It was good to see my girls be serving hands and put bread out on plates after plates after plates.
After our time there, Ryan took me to some of the areas he has been helping out this whole week ripping out sheet rock, moving debris to the curb, and so much more. I was silent once again as to see so many people's homes after homes just destroyed. Its simply heartbreaking.

The difference with hurricane Ike and hurricane Katrina is that the Red Cross had received millions of dollars for hurricane Katrina. Three years later, hurricane Ike hits and the Red Cross has received only thousands for this disaster. Its troubling to me. Its troubling that people have said, it was only a category 2 storm but simply forgot it was the size of Texas and at one time took up 80% of the gulf. Its troubling to me that my neighbors are back to normal. They fixed their fences and roofs and have re landscaped and to my knowledge seemed to almost forget what has happened to our neighbors just 5-10 miles away.

Those homes and families are anything but normal. Its troubling.

Ryan and I were talking on our way over to San Leon to serve the hot lunch today and we were talking about Jesus and the parable of the good Samaritan found in Luke. Here it reads....

"On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the law? he replied. Jesus says, "How do you read it?" He answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your soul and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus replies, "you have answered correctly. Do this and you will live."

But the expert in the law wanted to know, "who is my neighbor?"

This is when Jesus goes on to the tell the story of the good Samaritan a story I am sure many are familiar with. What I find so interesting is the Jesus never answers the man's question but simply tells the parable and in return asks the man a question. He says,

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus tells him,

"Go and do likewise."

So as we are all trying to move forward and and get a routine back or some type of normalcy to our lives, I pray that I would remember this parable. I pray that I would show mercy to my Seabrook, Kemah, San Leon, Clear Lake Shores, Baycliff neighbors. I would be the neighbor who knows God's words and commandments to go and do likewise.

I found this video through our local news website that I wanted to share. Its a chance to give to the Red Cross and to remember their efforts in disasters such as hurricane Ike. Or you can give to http://www.ikeassist.org/, a website set up by our church to help and keep people informed of the many needs that still need to happen to make this area complete again.
Thanks for listening to my rambles today.

Get a tissue, this video is special.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXipDNAwW94