Guidance from Gustav

Gustav. When you hear that word, at least before this week, you probably thought of a Russian wrestler. Or maybe you thought of a villain in a James Bond movie. Or maybe you thought of a ride operator at Silver Dollar City during World Fest. Maybe not.

I bet now when you hear Gustav you think about all this lovely rain that is so gently watering our flowers and grass and the gentle breeze that is so lightly kissing the trees.

It's amazing to me that storms like this do such interesting things. Not just to the earth but to people. People have reacted in so many ways. Good job New Orleans for learning from Katrina. Good job FEMA for handling things better this time around too. The evacuees have taken the advice of the government and gotten out in time and have even been totally different in the way they have responded to this disaster (all very positive by the way).

So maybe this is the question we should ask ourselves: What have we learned in response to the "disasters" that have come in our life? You and I have a choice when disasters come. We can either get mad, blame others, and expect someone else to fix it, or we can look around, evaluate, plan, and prepare for the next one. In the midst of difficult times, we don't have time to blame others, we must take on these tough times and work hard to make sure that we not only make it through the difficulty, but learn from it also.

Disasters are coming. We had better get ready for them. And since you have already been through some, take the lessons you have learned and put them into action in your life today.