Last week was my second summer trip for Hurricane Relief work in Mississippi. Oh, there is so much to tell! First there were 7 fabulous chaperones that I have come to love as brothers and sisters. Then there were the 23 youth that humbled me with their efforts and commitment. Finally there were all the wonderful people gathering in Mississippi who refocused our learning. They know life is not about the material collections we assemble around in our journey. They have lost most of those things. Instead it is about how the Lord sends people to heal us when we most need another's love. In your darkest hour, the Lord will provide. He will surround you with youthful strength, elder's wisdom, and the reminder to simplify. With just the basics of clean clothes, a home cooked meal, and a good friend to share your thoughts, you really have the best. Wrap that in a faith filled community and add some good music, dancing, and singing and you've got it all.
When Massachusetts acquaintances ask me what I experienced in Mississippi, I explain it this way. Most of the time we go through life on a Level 1, the surface of the ocean. It is safe there and allows for smooth sailing. But the Hurricane Katrina rebounders take us right to Level 5. Level 5 is the depths of the ocean. They could drown in all the things they have lost. As Malcolm, my Mississippi friend, so well puts it in his local lingo, "It is lower than whale manure." The power of Level 5 pain is that with it comes Level 5 love. Pain and love, paired just like cream and sugar, North and South, highs and lows, rise and shine. When we encounter someone in a Level 5 loss, it is our natural response to use our healing capacity to surround them with Level 5 love. Then comes the miracle! When we are in a Level 5 situation, it is in giving that one receives. As you give your physical help and strength, appreciation and love fill the space. The more effort extended, the more powerful the appreciation. It cycles through the group and spurs everyone to efforts beyond their imagination. You are proud of each other, just as the receiver is proud of what is being accomplished. Within 24 hours of entering this environment, all participants are bonded in success. Quickly, you meld into an efficient and respectful team.
Let me fill in the visuals. A Mississippi survivor loses their home and everything in it. Volunteers come to rebuild the home. It is 92 degrees but everyone wants to help, so each just chips in and does what they can. Next thing you know, someone provides a drink, a joke, a compliment about the effort being extended. Then, of course, you want to work harder. In the group, the attitude spreads like a wildfire. And a wildfire it is! It is hot and the work is hard and your muscles are burning, but it doesn't matter. You are helping, just as you hoped you would be able to and people are noticing your effort. Tears begin trickling down the Mississippi resident's face because they are seeing their home coming back together but they cannot pay for the labor. If they only knew how much they do pay, because they LOVE us from the depths of their hearts and that's all we really came for anyway. And, of course, the next thing that happens is we love our co-workers and we return to our home base filled up with excitement. It is infectious and inspiring and we wonder why we never before felt so overwhelmed with joy. In giving one shall receive. Find those opportunities to give others the best of yourself.
Another lesson, we are our own worst enemies. Careful! When you read this part you will have to throw away all your beauty magazines and home catalogs. We bring on our OWN stressors. We live in a society that says one has to look better than another, or have a better car, or a better home, or a better job. Competition fills our days. Take competition out of the picture and put cooperation in its place and things change dramatically. When someone sings, we all join in and start to dance. When someone picks up a roofing shingle, another starts to nail. If there is nothing to be gained by outdoing another human being, then we might as well just enjoy each other's company! How simple is that!
It is hard to return from an experience like Mississippi. It is hard to be thrown back into the daily routine that stresses competition again. It seems so trivial and unproductive. Yet it is easier to smile and brighten another person's day. There is a new focus in life that just seems correct. That's the focus I want to maintain until I can return next summer once again!
