Rita continues to "disrupt" our lives

15 days after hurricane Rita demolished our area we are still without power and many other comforts that we have grown used to. I look at my outlook calendar over the past two weeks and think about what my life would have been like if Rita hadn't displaced us. There would have been that Jr. High department fellowship, the High School homecoming game, the pictoral directory appointment, and then there would have been the meetings. Some would say that Rita has "disrupted" our lives and schedules. However, I have to be honest. Rita (and God's purpose for her) has been a blessing. Rita has slowed me way down and reminded me that there are some things more important than schedules and routines. In the last week, I have had four 30-minute conversations with non-Christian neighbors. None of these would have taken place if the electricity had been on and we were all holed-up in our cool houses. Rita has given me a sustained focus on what really matters. It seems that Rita left in her wake more than just a million mangled trees. She left an awareness of reality. Gone (for now) is the sleepiness of life.