"Fires, Storms, and Maladies"

There is nothing like a pandemic that puts the things that normally concern or agitate us into perspective.  If that is not enough to put things into perspective, there are raging wildfires in twelve western states incinerating homes, forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations, and burning a swath of land the size of the state of New Jersey. If that is not enough, how about a hurricane that destroys everything in its path even faster than a wildfire? Between a hurricane, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a lot of things in life to put in perspective this week.

I am writing a portion of this article late at night after returning from buying equipment and supplies my sons need but cannot buy down in Daphne and Fairhope.  Hurricane Sally made landfall just a few miles from their homes. They are okay with minimal property damage. They have no electricity. I will leave early tomorrow morning and meet one of them halfway with a generator, electrical cords, and gas cans - items that have disappeared in stores in that area during the last 48 hours.  My shopping Wednesday night and my trip Thursday morning are results of putting things in perspective. I had this article to complete Wednesday night and a full day of work planned for Thursday - a list of things I need to get done before Sunday.  However, when I learned one of our sons needed a generator, I did not hesitate to drop what I was doing to buy it and change plans to meet him with it.

Many of you would have done the same or better.  You learned that from someone who did it for you.  I learned it from my dad who learned that from his father.  I lost count of the times Daddy came to my aid after I had left home. He drove a hundred miles in the wee hours of the morning to help me when I had an alternator to quit on the interstate.  I called him at midnight to come get my family and me on a rural road after my car collided with a deer that knocked out my headlights and punctured my radiator.  He was never sitting around with nothing to do waiting on me to call.  But whatever he was doing, my need put his work and his plans in perspective.  He dropped what he was doing and showed up.

We do that for family.  We do that for friends.  We do that for folks in need when their need triggers empathy in us. I saw that happen again Saturday. I left a store on 6^th Avenue and turned on Magnolia St. heading home. Just after I turned onto Magnolia, the fuel supply to my Jeep engine cut off.  This is the second time in two months that this has happened while I was in traffic.  It would not start.  Before it came to a complete stop, I got out and started pushing it down the street toward the entrance to a parking lot.  Several vehicles went around me.  One driver pulled into the parking lot and ran back to help me push.  By the time I parked the vehicle he was gone.  It did not take long, but he changed his priorities for five minutes to help a stranger in need.  FYI, I found a diesel mechanic who is working to diagnose and repair the vehicle now.

Having life put into perspective can be more than a philosophical awakening to the reality that our complaints about things that looked big and important to us before are in fact petty in comparison to what other people are going through.  That maybe I do not have it as bad as I thought after all is an important insight.  What is more important is that our new perspective lead to action driven by new priorities in the way we spend our time and our money.  In response to the storms and the fires, you can make donations that support recovery and restoration work.  At First UMC, our Faith Promise giving supports national and international disaster relief through the Disaster Warehouse here in Decatur and UMCOR—United Methodist Committee on Relief.  You can give additionally through UMCOR by clicking on this link. You can train as a disaster relief volunteer through the United Methodist Volunteers in Missions organization.  And in response to the pandemic, you can keep doing what I know you are tired of doing—wearing masks, social distancing, and staying away from crowded places as much as possible—until the danger of this virus passes.  Our world is in crisis!  Don’t miss the chances you have now to see life and do life differently, and better. 

Yours in Christ, 

Hughey