Monday; March 16
When I
pulled into Grand Forks, North Dakota that spring day back in 1997 I was
overwhelmed by the sights. There was
water standing in the streets, the roadways under the overpasses were filled
with water, the downtown looked like a war zone and houses had literally been
moved off of their foundations by the force of the flood waters. Within a matter of days, sheetrock, electrical
supplies and personal property littered the streets and boulevards. I hadn’t spent much time in Grand Forks
before this, but even I felt the surreal effect of what had happened when the
Red River flooded. When I think back on
this event, these images come to mind, but there is something else I
remember. You see, several years later I
went back and the community had responded.
Sure, there was a park where one neighborhood had been, but all-in-all
life had found a new normal and Grand Forks was thriving.
We live in an unprecedented
time with an uncertainty all around us, but let’s remember that sometime –
hopefully sometime soon – normalcy will return and we will get back to our mundane,
but comfortable lifestyles. Yes, there
may be some challenges along the way and the “new normal” might look a little
different, but it will happen.
Hang in there. Relax, breathe and remember that the God who
cared about the world last month is still in control.
Think
About It!