Passing Through the Waters

It's amazing how life can change in a short amount of time. Last Saturday evening, my biggest concern was beating Matt and Justin at Scrabble (which I did, thank you very much). But this Saturday, life is so different.

Beth was in the hospital for most of the week, and we still don't know why. She had some black out episodes, and some trouble walking. It's very bizarre, and unsettling that there are no answers. She's home now, and she's fine, but life is definitely not normal. There are too many unanswered questions in the air.

I was in Kearney for several days for a conference, safe and sound when the tornados were ripping through Omaha Wednesday night. I was safe, but my heart was anxious. Then Thursday I woke up to more vivid news about the catastrophic flooding in Cedar Rapids. It's always unnerving to see your hometown on the national news. I can't quite wrap my mind around this. I've been watching the news and the internet, but images like this still seem like they belong in a movie, not in my hometown.

I can't quite believe that the Cedar Rapids Public Library, where the first show I ever directed was performed, is submerged. The Science Station, where I took many an elementary school field trip, is probably destroyed. And only the roof of the Czech Museum, where I interned for a semester, is visible above the waters in Czech Village. I am sad to wonder what the conditions are at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. I'm just praying that it won't hit Iowa City too hard, and that Amana will remain safe from the rising waters of the Iowa River.

It's just so surreal that the Cedar Rapids I've known and loved all these years won't ever be the same. But though it's heartbreaking, the casualty count is low, and the community is coming together in beautiful ways. Aroea had this to say in her latest email update to her friends and family:

Still in the midst of all of this the Lord has been quick to comfort me. More than once this passage has been presented to me:

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you...”

And again I find life to be all too literal.

The waters have come within a block of our home and stopped. As of now there’s not even sewage backing up in the basement as we had expected. I don’t mean to make light of the 9000 people who’ve been displaced from their homes, some of which are my neighbors, but for us, the waters have not overtaken us. Furthermore, I'm filled with hope as I think of working with the members of my community in the coming months to rebuild what has been lost. It may be hard, but we're all going to be okay.