Hurricane Sandy’s Rats

The rats were one of the hardest things about Hurricane Sandy’s wrath from one Manhattan resident’s perspective. Millions of rats that were visiting the surface to escape drowning in the flooded, Manhattan underground. Rats. Yikes. Puts my own complaining about a temporary power loss in perspective. And makes you realize that there is a whole lot of something underground that we’d all prefer would just stay there.

Everyone in Manhattan knows that there are millions of rats underground. There’s an arrangement, they stay down there, for the most part, and the people stay above, for the most part. But when a storm comes, an unwelcome mingling takes place. I can’t help but think of how we have similar arrangements with parts of ourselves. My jealousy, neediness, and selfishness are all there, but they stay in the tunnels, for the most part. I remain on the surface; open, kind, and moderately generous, for the most part. You know what brings all those tunnel dwellers to the surface? Storms. And, in this case, I mean that literally.

With the devastation that this storm brought, I was really focused on the ways I was expecting to be inconvenienced. I fully expected to be without power for five days like the last two storms, but power was restored here in a mere 12 hours. In the midst of it, so many friends expressed their concern and offered help and prayers and I was face to face with how petty my needs were. My inconvenience was short, but as I see how awful the storm was for others, I can see that my rats were coming to the surface more than I’d like.

What storms bring your rats to the upper floors? When does the tacit understanding—you’re down there, I’m up here—get overturned? And what is God’s invitation when it happens?

If you want to contribute to Hurricane Sandy relief, consider this reputable organization: Samaritan’s Purse

4 Responses

  1. Love your blogs. But, after this hurricane … I have no choice but to change my name. Guess gals with names like Katrina, Irene, etc. felt the same way. I won’t be welcomed anywhere, certainly not NY or NJ or OCMD 🙁

  2. To bring all of this into perspective, too…Haiti was very hard hit by Hurricane Sandy several days before it reached the U.S. 50 people died and extremely heavy rains will likely bring another cholera epidemic. 🙁

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