“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
II Timothy 2:3

Courtesy of Creative Commons

I have been thinking a lot about the word, resilience. Merriam-Webster defines resilience this way:

An ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

This week and in the days ahead, the people of New York and New Jersey will continue to endure hardship and be resilient.

The extent of damage from Hurricane Sandy is apocalyptic.

We (my family) were fortunate, even so, we are feeling the after effects. We are not able to purchase gas. The lines to get gas remind me of the 70’s when there was a shortage.

I must have been about eight or nine years old. I remember it was the summer.

One hot and humid day, I decided to be industrious and drag a cooler filled with cold sodas and water in a red wheelbarrow to the nearest gas station. There was a long line of cars waiting for gas.

At that time, there wasn’t air conditioning in the cars, so I was able to sell all the water and soda quickly.

My entrepreneur, restaurant owner and chef father was proud of me. He was bragging about what I did to all of his customers.

These long lines remind me of back then, only this time, it’s not hot out.

I do not think the gas situation will be resolved quickly. Another factor which is now being  introduced is a shortage of oil.

So not only are we experiencing a shortage of gas, but we will also be experiencing a shortage of oil.

The apartment complex where I live runs on oil. So this will be interesting.

Every time I feel overwhelmed or begin to worry, I remind myself of how we were spared. Right now, there are countless people who lost their homes or who still don’t have any power or worse, a mother who lost both her children.

It is cold out. There are families with little children who are freezing. Those who don’t have family to stay with or the means to stay in a motel or even get around. I can’t deny feeling blessed and grateful despite the weight of anxiety and sadness I feel.

A good friend of mine told me to blog about what is happening. I actually hesitated to write about it, but perhaps she is right. Maybe I do need to write about what is happening here in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

For those of you who reached out and are praying, on behalf of my family and I, we want to say thank you. May the Lord bless you for caring and for your heart of compassion during this difficult time.