As I worked with this handful of college students and many older members of the Carlisle congregation, I thought about the toy and its young owner. I thought about Katrina’s nameless victims. And then I thought about myself—about my comfortable, damage-free life at Messiah College. I take so many things for granted in my life: my belongings, my home, my family, my health. All are simple, all important to me—yet I so easily forget them in my everyday routine. I get caught up in the worries of my day—tests, projects, papers meetings, homework, office work—and forget the simple blessings that God grants.
These people—the people affected by the hurricane—have a new perspective on life: they notice the day-to-day blessings. As I stood in the sanctuary one day, taking a break from work, a member of the Gulfhaven Church approached me. “This ceiling’s gonna look real good when it’s finished,” he said.
I smiled. “I think so.”
He clapped me on the back, nodding his head. “I wish you all could be here for Sunday service, and see the looks on people’s faces. There won’t be a dry eye in the entire place.”
I thought about his words for a long time after that. Not a dry eye in the place? It’s just a ceiling, I thought. Yet the more I considered his words, the more I understood: for these people, it’s not about having a repaired ceiling. It’s about having a sense that there can be rebirth. It’s about believing, knowing that life will go on. It’s about being thankful for the little things—for something as commonplace as a ceiling.
Serving at Gulfport allowed me the opportunity to meet with and talk to people affected by Katrina, and to help them in their rebuilding process. But more than anything else, serving at Gulfport allowed the victims of the hurricane to help me—to show me the real meaning of thankfulness. Returning to Messiah, I pray that I can take the time to thank God for his wonderful, small blessings.
—Devin Thomas '09
Although Thomas’ specific trip to Mississippi was not officially sponsored by Messiah College, more than 30 Messiah students—in coordination with the College’s Agapé Center for Service and Learning—volunteered to serve the victims of hurricanes in the south during their spring break. Two teams traveled to New Orleans, where they assisted with relief work—such as gutting and moving—and reconstruction work. Another team traveled to Florida regions devastated by 2004’s Hurricanes Ivan and Frances.
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