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86108-584373-thumbnail.jpgThe book presents the best of the first year of Today at the Mission. It is very much like the blog - a record of an emotional and spiritual journey undertaken in the kitchen of an anonymous homeless shelter that could be anywhere, or everywhere. It's not always 'light' reading but it's every bit as real as it is honest. This book captures a few miles of the journey I've been on, and I hope you'll join me along the way.

Buy the book here: Lulu.com

And yes - every cent of the profit goes to the Mission.

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« Suzanne | Main | Non-Sequitur »
Tuesday
30Aug2005

Tears for Mississippi

DateAugust 30, 2005

In Mississippi tonight, homelessness has taken on a whole new dimension. I've often said that most of us are no more than three months of unemployment away from absolute ruin. Tonight it has become apparent that even the most successful among us are less than 24 hours away from homelessness.

You live your life, dream your dreams, come home from work, park the minivan in the driveway, have dinner and  tuck your kids into bed. You kiss their forehead and hold their face in the palm of your hand. You think, 'things will always be like this.'  You think, 'this is the way my life is.' Then, one night, the fury of the world descends and nothing will ever be the same again.

How do we live in a world like this except in the sacredness of this day, this very moment, that we have been given? How do we understand the devastation, the pain and the loss except to cast our hearts upon Him, to cry out for mercy, for grace, for the outpouring of His tender love? And how can we continue with all of our pretending?

Tears and prayers for New Orleans, for Biloxi, for Mississippi.

Author[rhymes with kerouac] | Comment10 Comments | Reference3 References |

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References (3)

References allow you to track sources for this article, as well as articles that were written in response to this article.
  • Response
    Response: Katrina Aftermath
    by Bruce Alderman
  • Related
    Related: Sojourners
  • Related
    Related: Prayer for the Gulf Coast Area
    at Sojourners via The Journey
    The final irony of New Orleans is that the people who normally fill the Louisiana Superdome are those who can afford the high cost of tickets, parking, and concessions. Now its inhabitants are the poor, especially children, the elderly and the sick - those with nowhere else to go. Those with money are nowhere to be seen.

Reader Comments (10)

You are right. Life is fragile, and filled with grace we do not usually appreciate.
I also pray for the people of southern MS, AL, LA, and the Florida panhandle.
August 30, 2005 | Unregistered CommenterJulana
it makes you think
it makes you pray
and it makes you feel so inadequate when you are so far away

my prayers for those whose lives are being torn apart by the wind - Jesus help us be your hands and your voice in this time.
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered CommenterLorna
Lord, have mercy. †
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered CommenterMonk-in-Training
Amen
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered CommenterLayla
Seeing all of the refugees gathering on the interstate highway in New Orleans(from the nearby Projects) was disheartening. They had so little to begin with; now they have nothing.

Photos of the aftermath are heart-breaking:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/photos/
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered CommenterMark
My 74 year old mother commented about NO. She noticed that "most" folks on TV were black-- African American. I realize that NO has a heavy AA population, however, I don't see any rich white folks roming the streets. This isn't a slam, but more of an observation. Some are much less than three months of unemployment from homelessness.
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered Commenterrick
Julana - Indeed...there's no telling how widespread the devastation will be - in both geographic and human terms.

Lorna - I know how you feel - we sit and watch this on television and don't know what to do, or say, or how to even think...

Monk-in-Training - Mercy, mercy, mercy...

Layla - A chorus of amens...

Mark - Disheartening is right. It just gets worse with every newscast.

Rick - You are absolutely right. I have some reservations about Jim Wallis but he had an excellent piece in the Sojourners email today. The reference to 'three months' is strictly a local one. Here in Ontario a landlord can't begin eviction procedings until the rent is three months in arrears. (Hey, that's socialism for you...)
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered Commenter[rhymes with kerouac]
Lord let me live in the sacredness of each moment.I am far away from NO, so, Lord let me the hands and heart of Jesus for those around me. Let me see hearts that are torn by internal storms, and let me release your grace to them. Amen
August 31, 2005 | Unregistered Commenterluke chan
What are we to learn from this disaster? What is Gods reason for allowing it to happen?I am completely bewildered .
September 1, 2005 | Unregistered Commenterjoanee
luke chan - Amen to that, brother.

joanee - Like you, I don't know what to think of all this - or even how to think about it. The mind - and heart - reels.
September 2, 2005 | Unregistered Commenter[rhymes with kerouac]

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