Like many other Houstonians whose homes have not been
adversely affected by Harvey, I have watched this enormous storm (which is
still dumping massive amounts of rain on my friends in East Texas and South Louisiana as I write this) absolutely
slam into the lives of those around me for 5 days straight. I have watched it deluge neighborhoods,
destroy homes, swallow vehicles, separate families, terrify children and
adults, and reduce friends, family, and strangers to tears. I am so done with Harvey, and I am absolutely READY to
get out there and volunteer, donate, demo houses, build, paint…whatever it is. Gimme a sledgehammer and a plate of cookies. Let’s love
people, bring relief to families, and rebuild Houston.
My husband is on staff at a church, and one of the things that I was blown away by is that he and the rest of the staff were told by our pastor, “Your
job for the month of September is disaster relief. Period.
Drop everything else. We are
going to LOVE FIRST.” He spent last night at NRG Arena (one of our large-scale shelters here in Houston)
helping with mental health services for 14 hours. And before he walked out the door to go, he
apologized to me that I couldn’t go with him.
Because I wanted to. Like the vast majority of our city right now, I want so
much to help.
That being said, it's not exactly practical when you are staying
home with 2 active, small kiddos. So, I’ve
been brainstorming (and getting some great ideas from others) on what I can do. Because as I have come to realize, there is plenty I can do. Don’t let anyone tell
you that you can’t do anything much to help because of the stage of life you
are in because God has equipped us with an abundance of gifts,
talents, and resourcefulness to do great and lovely things all over the place. He has given us everything we need for life
and godliness. Or as I often heard growing up, “God
doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the
called.”
So here it is, my list of possible things that one can do, that most people can do, no matter what. --
1) Babysit
for friends who need to do work on their homes OR switch off babysitting with
friends who also have kiddos but want to volunteer as well. People, babysitting is expensive. Help each other out. (You could also offer to bring a meal and wash a few loads of laundry while you're at it.)
2) Invite a family
to stay in your home. Yes, that is a
commitment. Yes, it’s involved. God has gifted us with much – how can we not
share what we have? Do you have to have
a large house? Nope. Do you have to cook gourmet meals every
night? Nope. Do you have to have a perfectly CLEAN
house? Absolutely NOPE. (And y’all, I’m speaking to myself
here.) Share your perfect mess with
others. Share your space. Give generously. We have been given and blessed with much. You have too much to offer not to share -- warmth, space, food, electricity, a place to sleep, and your presence.
3)
Donate
online. Cash/money is best in many
situations. It is easiest for the people
doing the work on the ground to assess what is needed and to make the
purchases. Plus, you don’t waste any
money or time on shipping. Unless you
have Amazon Prime and know exactly what types of products are needed. Then click away. (Somebody made one of the flooded neighborhoods here an Amazon Wishlist.)
4)
Purchase
canned goods, non-perishables, cleaning and baby supplies from Aldi. Here is my shameless plug for Aldi because,
if you are on a budget or if you aren’t, you can get quality products for ridiculously low prices. Load up on whatever
is needed for shelters for a fraction of the price. At least 40% less. Which means more absolutely necessary items
for people who desperately need them.
5)
Make food
for people. Evacuees, neighbors, the
National Guard, Cajun Navy, boys with bass boats, out-of-state volunteers, first responders, medical personnel, people manning shelters
and distribution centers. They all need
to eat. It doesn’t take much to whip up
a couple pots of spaghetti, grab a few bags of salad, a few loaves of garlic
bread, and some cookies. My neighborhood is helping to do this for a National Guard group in Brenham (which is an hour and a half away) -- everyone is bringing food to one woman's house, and she is transporting the food up to 280 National Guard members for dinner. Store bought or
homemade….it truly doesn’t matter. I don’t
know too many people who will refuse a batch of boxed brownies. (Although a batch of fresh-out-of-the-oven
chocolate chip cookies never hurt ANYBODY.
Ooh, and tacos.) Everyone loves tacos.)
6)
Involve
your kids. If you
let them, kids LOVE to help. They truly enjoy feeling useful and they love to know that what they do is significant. Let them help you make those cookies and help
take them to your neighbors. Or police
officers. Or grocery store clerks. Last night, my almost-5 and almost-2 year olds
were making cards for evacuees. Later today, they are going with my husband and I to our church distribution center to help in whatever way we can.
(Granted,
in this case, the church happens to have a
playground where I can let them play if they get a little crazy.) But we are going to encourage them to help. We watched an episode of Daniel Tiger today
about hurricanes and “looking for helpers” (Season 6, Episode 4 if you are
wondering….on Amazon Prime Video), and tomorrow we are going to put “being
helpers” into practice as best we can. It will be imperfect, I can almost guarantee you. But it's an opportunity to teach and model and to "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) And what a beautiful lesson for them to learn early in life -- "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." (I John 3:18)
7)
Have a
cookout for your street. Again with
the food, but I have always devoutly believed and seen firsthand that food
brings people together. It doesn’t
matter if it is family, friends, or absolute strangers. And that can’t happen enough in this world.
Make it a potluck if you can’t handle
the whole thing. Pull your grill out
into your front yard or onto your driveway.
Buy a ton of burgers and hot dogs from Sams, and grill those puppies
up. Find ways to love your neighbors. They live right next to you. Relationship matters.
8)
Be an
armchair quarterback. And no, I don’t
mean the annoying kind who yells at the TV because someone made a ridiculous
play with an honestly very strangely-shaped ball. I mean the kind who is sitting at home while
the kiddos take a nap or are in bed at night, scrolling through their phone or
on their computer. Use your powers of scrolling, clicking, calling, and texting for good from the comfort (or craziness) of your own home. Make some phone calls. Text a friend. Use your social media platforms thoughtfully.
a.
Share articles that might be helpful for neighbors
dealing with flooded homes. It can be
overwhelming to have to deal with filing insurance claims, contacting FEMA,
ripping out baseboards and flooring and sheet rock, throwing out furniture –
there are plenty of people who have done this before and can help break down
this mind-blowing process down into manageable, bite-sized chunks.
b.
Share articles that might be helpful to
neighbors (near and far) who are wanting to donate to reputable organizations. People like to know that the organizations
they are giving to are using their money for what they say they are using it
for.
c.
Share the names of shelters, their addresses,
and what they are specifically requesting.
Shoot, call up some of the shelters you find online and ASK them what
they are specifically in need of (and if it changes each day). Money is the best thing to donate to
organizations. Specifically-requested
goods are the best thing for shelters at the moment. Donating items that have NOT been thought out
or requested often does more harm than good.
So help your neighbors (and yourself) by doing a little research and
then sharing with those around you.
People are looking to help. Help
them make wise decisions about how to spend their money and their
resources.
d.
If you are a part of a local neighborhood Facebook group, share some of the above things in your group. My neighborhood FB group is AMAZING for
that. Immediately after the storm,
everyone shared about what stores were open, which roads were cleared, when gas was being
sold, and where we could find bread and milk. But very quickly, the conversation turned to “Does anyone know who needs volunteers?” “Did you know such-and-such church is now a shelter? They need
blankets and pillows and canned items and diapers.” “Does anyone know what
donations they are taking down at the high school?” “Who wants to make food for the firefighters?” It’s been endearing to see.
e. Band together with other church members or your mommy-group or other people whom you are in community with to do a donation
drive for specific requested items.
f. Connect people in your network. People are looking to help all over the
nation. I have been connected on social media by friends to people I have never met, wanting to make donations to shelters and
distribution centers on the ground in Houston.
I happen to have connections to a large church that is doing a LOT in this area. So people who I have never met are sending tote bags and kiddie pajamas and
checks to organizations, shelters, distribution centers, and churches who I
know are reputable people. Make yourself
available for that. If you are not in SE
Texas, find your SE Texan friends and ask THEM what is needed. They can tell you.
I was talking to my daughter, Hannah, tonight. She just got up out of bed after I had tucked her in because “I need to tell you something really important, Mommy!” What did she want to tell me? "Jesus is who we worship. Jesus is our King. He chases away the darkness, and the light comes!" And friends, oh my goodness, He does. When God's children show unconditional love to those around them, He radiates his light through us. Don’t allow anyone to quench that. You are NOT useless in your home when it comes to hurricane relief. Or loving your neighbors. Truth be told, there isn't a single one of these practical "tips" that couldn't be practiced all year round. Even when there isn't a hurricane. So let your light shine. People can see it from your house.
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that having all sufficiency,
in all things, at all times,
you may abound in every good work.”
– II Corinthians 9:8
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