Three weeks ago, the greater Cedar Rapids community experienced a freak inland hurricane known as a derecho. Because of this storm, many of us experienced what it is like to live without food, shelter, gas, electricity and internet—most of us for the first time in our lives.
At my house, we learned first-hand how hard it can be to find food and keep it cold when even the grocery stores are without power. We learned what it was like to not feel safe in our own home, thanks to a precariously-leaning tree that could have crashed through our house at any time. We had to drive 40 miles to find an open gas station that took credit cards, since we did not have enough cash on us when the power went out, rendering credit card readers and ATMs useless. We experienced how unbearably hot it felt inside a house that didn’t have electricity to power our air conditioner or fans. We found it essential to communicate with our family out of state, since we didn’t have any local access to information. (Without a television or radio connected to power and the internet, we didn’t even hear the word derecho for several days, and we had no idea how far the destruction spread.) We learned what it was like to do hard, physical labor from sunrise to sunset without much progress to show for it.
But we also learned how to come together as a community to help each other cut down fallen trees and build up neighborhoods. We learned how to support one another and pool resources. We learned how to be in community with one another again.
In the years ahead, I pray that we don’t forget how it felt to live without these necessities. I pray that we remember how to live within our community, helping neighbors and acting for the greater good.
Because the needs are not over for some members of our community. There are still single parents who can’t afford to feed their children. There are those working two jobs who are facing homelessness because they can’t afford to pay rent and a medical bill in the same month. There are healthy people who can’t keep their job because they can’t afford the gas to get there. There are elderly people who can’t afford the electricity to power their medical devices. There are many people who have never felt the connecting power of ready access to the internet.
Long after the majority of us have our immediate needs met, there will still be suffering in our community. And I pray that we don’t forget what it felt like to live without. We have seen first-hand how slow government response to needs can be. So it is our responsibility to care for each other. Long after the storm has passed, we are called to treat others with empathy, kindness and love. To not ignore the silent pleas for help, to not look past the homeless person on the street, to not fall back into old ways. We are being called to bring more love and compassion into this brave new space.
Invitation to Brave Space
by Micky ScottBey JonesTogether we will create brave space
because there is no such thing as a “safe space.”
We exist in the real world.
We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds.
In this space
we seek to turn down the volume of the outside world.
We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere.
We call each other to more truth and love.
We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow.
We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know.
We will not be perfect.
This space will not be perfect.
It will not always be what we wish it to be,
but
it will be our brave space together,
and
we will work on it side by side.
—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator