What I learned in Dallas, Texas

I did not know ahead of time that I would be traveling into the eye of mother nature last week when I ventured off to a conference in this grand city.

However as all know by now, Texans spent a harrowing week of dispair as Hurricane Rita slowly made its way towards the Lone Star state. Our little group was made up of priests from outside the area and we didn't have the lives or limbs of our own families involved--but we did have the lives and limbs of our fellow brothers and sisters in harms way.

The storm landed far east of here and outside some wind, we really didn't get the jolt that the eastern side and coastal region experienced.

When 175 mph winds and a "Texas" size hurricane is in your midst, you really see first person how fragile life and property is. 25 ft. deep water renders any village, town, or city inhabitable.

People truly do "get" religious when an event like this occurs, plus they get emotional, scared, disoriented, and chaotic. After all--there whole lives have just been uprooted. Jobs, school, baseball, yardwork, video games, politics---all external things that make up their reality get thrown out the window like an old candy wrapper.

It is then that they must deal with the inside stuff. Personal and spiritual survival. Outside stuff can be rebuilt over time--but for those whose lives are lost--the external is forever gone.

So--I was thinking and pondering this on my return flight late last night. When I arrived back at the house and retrieved Yodi from the neighbors, I was back in my familiar external surroundings. How surreal.

I turned down an offer in Dallas for many reasons--but I think the main reason was over "life" in general. My lifes main mission has been about saving unborn babies lives. and I have saved some over the years. I don't want to become trapped in an institution where this work would be limited by academic pursuits. I already have entered the greatest university "GOD" has to offer--and it is outside the rigid confines of structured environments. Rather than affect the lives of a few--[however precious that may be], I would rather have the opportunity to sit on a park bench one on one with a few that cross my path while at the same time reaching out my ministry to the world through mass media such as this little place.

Storms have a way of prioritizing lives. I do pray that those caught up in the recent hurricanes take time to reflect on where their "own" lives are headed. If there is a silver lining in the chaos of Texas this week--it is "that" opportunity offered up to all whose lives have been forever affected by Hurrican Rita. "GOD" does know how to reach out to the masses. I do thank him for that.

Now its time to take this little guy for a morning stroll. By the way he is hopping around it looks like he's been holed up for a few days too much.