HOUSTON WE SEE YOU!
HOUSTON WE LOVE YOU!
HOUSTON WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU!
My husband and I don't know much about Texas, but we do know when people experience devastation it is an opportunity to LOVE OUTTA DA BOX. Tonight as we unwind in the privacy of our apartment in Maryland:
I can't help but to think about the individuals and families that are trying to get comfortable on rooftops, in waiting rooms, in the back of cars, on cots in gymnasiums, on church pews, or at a loved ones house miles away from their homes.
I can't help but to hope that inmates were evacuated from facilities in the affected region early enough.
I can't help but to think deeply about how this natural disaster will impact the lives of people who are in violent relationships or who've been sexually assaulted.
Devastation does something to people. It can shift us to be more compassionate, loving, and nurturing - going above and beyond to make sure others needs are met. But there is a flip side to devastation; so many people who are in violent relationships experience more danger in the wake of devastation. Many vulnerable people (elderly, children, people living with disabilities, poor people, women, marginalized and disenfranchised) will experience sexual violence during natural disasters due to change in living arrangements. Vulnerable people become more vulnerable as the community responds to the disaster. Sometimes the most vulnerable are coerced or forced into sexual contact due to desperation to secure their own or their family's safety. To learn more click here.
Tonight I am trusting God to install extra protection around the most vulnerable in the Houston areas affected by Hurricane Harvey and the mudslide in Sierra Leone. I am believing God to wage wars spiritually to secure safety for the most vulnerable people in areas where natural disasters have occurred around the world.
Tonight i'm also fighting the feeling of helplessness. The truth is we can all be supportive after natural disasters. If you are compelled to support people after natural disaster or devastation the best advice I can offer is to pray 1st and listen to how God moves you. When God moves you to action - make sure you get to work, because faith without the work is dead. This, like every other disaster is an excellent moment to #LOVEOUTTADABOX
God bless you Houston.
God bless you Sierra Leone.
God bless us as we receive instructions on the best ways to support hurting people!
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