Thank God. Right now, I have a home with electricity and running water, plus food and a closet full of clothes.I still have a job and a reliable source of transportation. All of my family members that lived in New Orleans (except an uncle who stayed but, from what I understand, is OK) made it out before Hurricane Katrina rocked it. Of course, there are a few new issues in my personal life as a result of this disaster, but overall my life is still intact.I have the luxury of being able to say, ‘It could’ve been me.’ I say this mindful of all those who can’t right now.Right now, there’s someone still stuck in the attic of a New Orleans home with no food or water. There’s someone who’s managed to evacuate with his family but has no home to return to or job to sustain. Some people just have the clothes on their backs and are somewhere wondering where there family is or if they even made it out of New Orleans.There is someone out there who only a few weeks ago, had all of the basic necessities, but now has to start from scratch. Right now, there’s someone thanking God just like me, except they’re thanking Him for just surviving and being alive today. They don’t know what’s next, but they have “right now” to be thankful for because there is someone who doesn’t even have that.The thing that I’m most thankful for is that God kept me safe and all of those things He blessed me with can be used to help somebody else. What we all need to do right now is take a personal inventory of our blessings and make a conscious decision to look for somebody to share them. Right about now, we don’t have to look far to find somebody to help.What we all need to remember throughout all of this is that God is still in control. And because we’re still here, He’s still got a plan for us and He’s still trying to speak to us.He’s always trying to speak to us; we just don’t always listen when He whispers softly in our ear. Sometimes He’s got to use a catastrophe to get our attention. Sometimes He’s got to be hard on us to humble us and get us to lean on Him. It’s always for the best though. If He cushioned every blow, we wouldn’t grow. Remember that.
