Healing the Wounds of Trauma

The hurricane struck. It was a terrifying experience for everyone still in the town. The wind knocked down trees, the sea swamped houses people thought were well inland from the shore, and there was flooding along many streets. As soon as the storm eased a little, Doug started checking on his parishioners, particularly the older ones and those inmobile homes. With the help of the government disaster team, he reached the area where Al lived and found him standing in the rain outside his destroyed house, trying to comfort his distraught wife. He quickly got them into his car, took them to the church, and helped make them comfortable in the fellowship hall. Soon they were joined by others, mainly elderly people from the mobile home complex. There were also some mothers with small children who had lost power in their homes and had no way of pre- paring meals. By the first evening after the storm, the fellowship hall was full of stunned people who had at least found shelter for the moment. Doug spent some time phoning other churches in the town and arranging for them to take in more people in need. It took some months before everyone was back in their homes and a new routine was established. One year later, almost on the anniversary of his first meeting with the parish committee, they were meeting again. Doug started by saying, “Hurricane season soon.… How can we prepare for it?” He got a different reaction this time! ❂❂ SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION 1. Is it right to prepare for future trouble? Can you think of any Scriptures that say we should do this? 2. What troubles might you need to prepare for in your area? 2. Why should we prepare for the future? God’sWord says, “Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later” (Pr 22.3). God has given us intelligence and common sense and he expects us to use them. Church leaders are responsible before God to lead and look after their congregations (Acts 20.26–31; Jr 23.1).

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Looking Ahead