When I read the daily updates on New Orleans, it makes me feel so hopeful to read about the heroes of the tragedy- people who travel from safe, "toxic water"-free cities to help strangers get their lives back together... It's also at times like this that I wonder what God's plan for these people is, and what role in that plan He would have ME play... I mean, I have no medical experience, and I'm terrible in times of big (or little) crisis... So what role could I ever play in a situation like this?

This afternoon, I called my mom at her work... She works for USAgencies, an insurance company geared towards lower-income households... USAgencies also happens to service mainly southern states, especially Louisiana... So for the last few days, and for probably weeks to come, my mom has been serving all of the people who have lost homes, cars, and family members, and have begun to receive medical treatment in hospitals... This got me thinking about this verse from Romans:

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:4-9

God equips each of us with different gifts- my mom happens to be great with insurance, but more importantly, she is amazing at making people feel cared for, and even more amazing at making the best of bad situations, and influencing people around her to do the same... What a great blessing she is...