By JUDY HORNE
What do you do when you lose everything you know and love? You march on, sure. You find distractions. You adapt. Your way of life becomes something a little different. A little worse? Maybe.
But when those moments of happiness do come, you relish them. They mean more now. “Gulf of Mexico oil spill has changed everything, residents say” — Pauline Arrillaga of The Associated Press, June 28, 2010
The land has been savaged, the way of life once-known has changed.
My people’s livelihood has been taken away and they ask “how will we eat? How will we live and pay our bills?” All of this in just a moment’s notice, and all of because of the oil leak disaster.
You see, the people of Louisiana live close to the land. Many make their living from the Gulf waters, and all enjoy the beauty of the wetlands — the marsh lands. A lifestyle of conscious living and hunters and fishermen at heart. You can harvest a turkey out your back door which opens to a haven of wild life. The people pass on the self-sufficiency aspects of this lifestyle to the next generation because living close to the land encourages respect.
It is part nature and part nurture.
The waterways are the highways to the cajuns and the Barataria swamps are so rich in seafood and wildlife that the people never worry about going hungry because they know the water and the land will feed them.
That is, until the oil leak.
Louisiana people know that observing nature is a powerful way to get close to God, so you often find them sitting by the bayou listening to the sounds of wildlife and enjoying the beauty of the land. They know that in HIS hands are the depths of the earth and the land belongs to HIM. The sea is HIS for HE made it, and HIS hands framed the dry lands. God created everything and nature is a representation of His glory. If you want to get close to God, get closer to His creation. So you can see how this disaster has destroyed our beautiful way of life.
The wisest of the wise were summoned to “fix” this leak, but so far have been unsuccessful. There comes a time in all of our lives when we don’t know what to do. But we believe God does, and we are asking that HE will heal the land.
Get up Louisiana, and start your walk to God! Know that when you start, you are standing — but when you get there, you are on your knees. And, be assured, that he will heal the land AND heal the people.
