Katrina

I can't believe that I was so occupied this past week that I didn't even have time to turn on the TV or read news on the web until Friday near the end of the work day!

The first time I began to learn of the chaos that's happening in New Orleans was on Wednesday after a cutomer visit in downtown LA. I was waiting for the valet to bring the car around and noticed that the TV on the side of the wall was reporting about the chaos happening in that part of the country. I guess if I really choose to, I can live completely oblivious to the world around me besides work. Well, this was the case this time. I was so busy that I didn't even know that there was a hurricane called Katrina which is wrecking havoc in Louisiana. Man, I've got to keep up to date on current events! I thought it was some riot happening there. Well, it may very well be. But it was due to the aftermath of the devastations caused by Katrina.

On Friday afternoon I began to read about the articles which had been headline news in any major news site. And I turned on the Yahoo live video to see some of the footage to get a better idea of what's happened in New Orleans. Wow! It was terrible! No word can describe it except that it was total anarchy, or in laymen's terms "all hell broke loose." I was instantly saddened after seeing all the people who are stranded with the babies and sitting aimlessly and helplessly looking for something or someone to help them. I can feel that some salty discharge in my eyes wanting to get out of my eyelids... but I held it in. Hey, I wasn't going to weep while I'm at work. x]

Later on in the evening, I went to fellowship early as tonight was the joint worship which happens on all the first Friday of the month. So the program starts at 7:30pm instead of our usual 8pm starting time.

I can really feel my age when I'm around these younger brothers and sisters.

Getting to the point, here's what I want to share out of the meeting tonight:

"They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea."
Isaiah 11:9

I think that we're scared of the unknown. When the unknown strikes, our first reaction is to defend ourselves in any way we know how. Imagine if we don't know that by tomrrow whether we will live or die. I think this is what the people in New Orleans are at least going through in their mind. Seeing no hope for the future. That's the reason why all inhibitions were unleashed and some people want to hurt other people so that they can survive in the aftermath in one of the greatest catastrophe in US history. These people did not believe that aid was on the way to them. They didn't know if God will watch over them. Instead, they probably think that there are no consequences to what they do... since they might die tomorrow. So all the looting, crimes, rape... happened because these people did not have the knowledge of the Lord (wow, writing down what I shared earlier is a lot tougher than I thought. Besides, I was just distracted because Johnny just dropped off the most famous egg custards from Chinatown in San Francisco on his way back to LA. Great, this is completely ruining my diet! Aaaarrrggghhh!!!).

I remeber about 3 weeks ago that the church pastor was sharing about his mission trip to India. There were 15,000 people meeting under one tent to worship God in unison. The knowledge of the Lord brings order, peace, and joy. Imagine all these people without God... wouldn't chaos reign? I'm thinking... the anarchy happening in New Orleans can be seen as a glimpse of the end times where people will act according to their instincts, disrespect and disregard for order which blinds them to think they can rule over the weaker. They have no knowledge nor the fear of God. And I think... truly, when we know God, the knowledge of God will disarm the weapons, the hostilities toward each other, and the wall of defenses will no longer be necessary between nations and peoples.

This is just part of the realizations tonight....

What I need more is not realizations. But... discipline.

... to be continued.