Boats in trees
It's tempting to talk about the Dallas Mavericks' first-game win last night, but I recognize that not everyone reading this essay knows what a Maverick is, or cares. So we'll resist the temptation and move on to a sight we can all wonder at together: boats in trees. This morning's New York Times has the story about Bayou La Batre, Alabama and its ongoing reminder of Katrina. It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma.
How two dozen shrimp vessels wound up suspended amid scrub oak and pine trees is not the question. That's the power of a hurricane. But why the vessels, some more than 80 feet long and weighing more than 100 tons, are still there--that's the mystery. It seems that most shrimp boats were insured, enabling their owners to pay for their return to the bayous, but these were not. A county health official declared the boats a public hazard, prompting the Coast Guard to remove their fuel and batteries. Then FEMA decided it had no reason to spend public money to retrieve private property.
So state and city officials applied to the Clinton-Bush Katrina Fund for help. They received $1.6 million to return the boats to their bayous. But the Army Corp of Engineers did not want to drag tons of steel across protected wetlands, so they are encouraging salvage crews to take the long way around. For some boats, the path to the bayou might mean disturbing an Indian burial ground. While the Gulf Coast worries about future hurricanes, the boats remind us that the past is relevant to the present.
What boats are still in your trees? What past issues are still problems for you this morning? A recurring temptation? A frustrating person? A decision you wish you'd never made? A decision you wish you'd made?
Paul assured the Philippians, "one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). You cannot run forward very well if you're looking backwards.
Helen Mallicot: "I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking. 'My name is, "I Am."' He paused. I waited. He continued. 'When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not "I Was." When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not, "I will be." When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here loving you always. Trust in me and be happy. My name is: "I Am."'" When we give our past problems to his present grace, we can step into his future in hope. Well?
I invite you out to God Issues for more information: GodIssues.com
How two dozen shrimp vessels wound up suspended amid scrub oak and pine trees is not the question. That's the power of a hurricane. But why the vessels, some more than 80 feet long and weighing more than 100 tons, are still there--that's the mystery. It seems that most shrimp boats were insured, enabling their owners to pay for their return to the bayous, but these were not. A county health official declared the boats a public hazard, prompting the Coast Guard to remove their fuel and batteries. Then FEMA decided it had no reason to spend public money to retrieve private property.
So state and city officials applied to the Clinton-Bush Katrina Fund for help. They received $1.6 million to return the boats to their bayous. But the Army Corp of Engineers did not want to drag tons of steel across protected wetlands, so they are encouraging salvage crews to take the long way around. For some boats, the path to the bayou might mean disturbing an Indian burial ground. While the Gulf Coast worries about future hurricanes, the boats remind us that the past is relevant to the present.
What boats are still in your trees? What past issues are still problems for you this morning? A recurring temptation? A frustrating person? A decision you wish you'd never made? A decision you wish you'd made?
Paul assured the Philippians, "one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). You cannot run forward very well if you're looking backwards.
Helen Mallicot: "I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking. 'My name is, "I Am."' He paused. I waited. He continued. 'When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not "I Was." When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not, "I will be." When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here loving you always. Trust in me and be happy. My name is: "I Am."'" When we give our past problems to his present grace, we can step into his future in hope. Well?
I invite you out to God Issues for more information: GodIssues.com
posted by God Issues at 6:06 AM
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