Forget the Big Picture

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FORGET THE BIG PICTURE

Not really, but just for a few minutes. Do not focus on the utter devastation of the floods, the submerged cars, the crumbling buildings, the roads destroyed, an entire neighborhood underwater. It’s hard, with the images being broadcast across the news and social media (and rightly so).

I don’t think any of us touched in any way by the recent flood will forget these images. They are unforgettable. But they can also be overwhelming and paralyzing, and when it comes to rebuilding, overwhelmed and paralyzed is not what you want to be.

Mother Teresa once said, “If I look at the masses, I will never act.” It is so easy to look at the devastation and feel powerless. Any one of is powerless to help everyone and fix everything. That is exactly why I urge you not to focus on “everyone” and “everything,” and instead focus on the person right in front of you.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

– Maybe you cannot use a hammer and nails to fix a building, but you can cook or donate a meal for the workers.

– The business down the street that flooded might not provide an essential service, but it is likely one family’s livelihood, so help them.

– You can take clothes to a shelter, but on a Facebook site you might hear about a family who needs just the sizes you have. Meet them instead.

– If you are competent around cars, offer to help those with damaged vehicles. You might be the person who helps someone else get back to work.

– If you own or manage a tree removal or landscaping service, offer free or heavily discounted rates and services to those whose properties are dangerously damaged.

– There are countess fundraising pages or lists of shelter needs coming across your phone screen. There’s no possible way you can help them all. So choose. Pick the one closest to your neighborhood or closest to your heart.

– It doesn’t matter if what you do is big or small, because you can do something that maybe nobody else can do. I’ve seen offers of everything from free car towing to free boarding for horses. As a community we can all work together to help everyone get the assistance they need, whether that is a new home or a few hours of free childcare so they can deal with a flooded office.

Most importantly, don’t lose the will to want to act as time passes.

Those images I told you to put aside for a minute? Go back to them if you feel that sense of urgency fading. All of those displaced families will eventually end up somewhere else, and they will need to start over. They may not need new kitchen supplies right now, but they will in a few weeks. We all know that this will be a long process, but time and time again this community has proven that it has the heart to keep up the enthusiasm for helping those in need.

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