Cleaning Up

After a storm, whether small like Hanna, or huge, like the looming Ike, the people that really count for something are those who can clean up. Not those who can call people, but people who know how to shoulder the weight, get down on their hands and knees, if necessary, and give effort to the restoration of life.

When my mother fell in her bedroom last month there was a huge aftermath to clean up. She's doing great now and she really handled the fall well, calling 911 and worrying about how she looked - she kept her composure throughout. But there was still a mess to clean up after they had taken her to the hospital. Head wounds bleed a lot and she was no exception. I dreaded going home, after a very long day in the emergency room and then her hospital room, to face the mess. The aftermath and the clean up she had described was looming large in my imagination as I drove down the highway home. By the time I got there, I was imagining a slasher movie or the nightmare on Elm Street version of things. I thought maybe I should call some to clean up for me. When I did assess the damage, it was messy but not unbearable and I had an overwhelming sense of this is the least I could do for her. How much of her life had she spent cleaning up after me? How much did she ache for exhaustion and still get down on her hands and knees for me. A little blood, a little clean up is nothing when love is invloved. And it made me realize that the kindest thing we can do for anyone when they have been through a storm is to help them with the aftermath and clean up. Now I am not talking about those who create storms and do damage to others intentionally, but sometimes accidents and illness, storms and hurricanes take up by surprise. We are alone with our aftermath.

May we have the courage today to seek out those who are helpless in the aftermath of life's storms. May we reach out in love, since God is constantly reaching out for us. May we have the courage to do a little heavy lifting, a little bending an stooping, for in our work, in our small offering is love made visible. Love is made real as we take on other people's burdens.