Random Lessons from Louisiana

I think my experiences with Louisiana are still sinking in, but I have managed to gather some new wisdom. I have seen panoramic devastation. I have walked neighborhood streets where I and my friends were the only ones there. I have heard voices of pain, doubt, healing, and hope. While we all wish that Hurricane Katrina had never happened, I am thankful that I had an opportunity to help. I am still amazed at how my life has been blessed by helping others.

Here are some things that I have learned:
1.) The mind can slow down, the body can tire with fatigue, but the spirit endures.
2.) The chance to help can come and go in an eyeblink. Act fast.
3.) Change is a traumatic journey that begins with answering God's call, continues through seeking Him earnestly, and ends in His loving arms.
4.) Always endeavor to identify objects in the muck--the junk you sift through represents somebody else's life. Lives may become fragile after a disaster, handle all of them with care.
5.) Make every trip count: don't go into a house without tools, and don't come back out of the house without a loaded wheelbarrow or an armload of debris.
6.) Faith the size of a "mustard seed" can move mountains, remove muck, carpet, drywall and refrigerators. And it can rebuild hope.
7.) Never do anything big without a "buddy." You'll have that person to help you, that person will have you to help him or her, and in the end, you'll both have somebody to thank.
8.) Always be humble: you might not know it, you might not believe in it, and you might never see it, but your little acts of kindness could be God's answer to somebody else's prayers.
9.) There are a great many ways to create faith, but hard work helping others is an amazing way to reinforce faith.
10.) Do not go into adversity expecting a specific change in your life when you come out. Let God reveal Himself in the changes that He has chosen to make in you.