normal

There’s nothing normal about the devastation of a tornado. It’s shocking.

Yet when our hearts are out of rhythm, a shock can sometimes bring them back to life.

There is something utterly normalizing to our hearts and minds about getting out to serve immediate needs in a crisis. We forget ourselves for a moment as we love those who have experienced trauma. We forget fear for a moment in the weight of miraculous preservation all around us.

A shock of selfless love and service, gratitude for each new day and solidarity with others is exactly what our stuck, weary, fearful, socially distanced pandemic selves needed.

In the renewed rhythm and beauty of love and service, we can weather the weight of monumental suffering surrounding us. Because the weight of the suffering we see here and now of the mangled trees, crushed homes and smeared hillsides doesn’t even compare with the weight of the glory of the love demonstrated that will endure for all of eternity.

So the shock of the devastation doesn’t paralyze us, but rather wakes us up from what has been paralyzed. Our hearts coming alive more fully having been reminded that the greatest of these is love.

Today, who can you serve? Even if you aren’t free to move around or be with people yet, you can still serve others.