Whilst praying my morning prayers this morning as is my habit, the thought of a man I’d worked with in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago popped in my head. Over the years I’d occasionally thought of George because he was a kindly man and a godly man. Thinking of him brought back good memories from a most devastating time. I find it funny that I have a lot of good memories from the experience of losing everything to Mother Nature.🙏🏽 As Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” George was one of the reasons it was the best of times, and I’m grateful our paths coincided.🙏🏽
Just a couple of weeks before the hurricane hit, I’d applied for a job at the Chamber of Commerce in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, but hadn’t heard back. After the hurricane, my husband and I were able to return to and then remain in BSL because we had a truck camper (later, a FEMA trailer.) The Chamber was desperate for help because it was providing assistance to those who’d lost both home AND business, and I was hired to assist volunteers who’d come to Ground Zero to lend a helping hand according to their expertise. George was the lead person for the team from the Small Business Administration (SBA) sent to help those who’d lost homes and businesses. The warehouse in which we operated housed the Chamber of Commerce on one half and the SBA on the other, so I saw him nearly every day.
George was a jolly, rotund man who was born and raised on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. He was personable, kind and always had a smile on his face. His culinary skills rivaled that of any French Quarter chef and his specialties always seemed to involve a lot of butter or cream. Or both. I once asked him for a copy of one of his savory recipes, and underneath the typed copy he gave me he’d written, Relax! Just don’t eat this everyday.
In time, we both eventually left BSL and went our separate ways. George was great at staying in contact with emails. His job with the SBA required him to go wherever disaster struck, so he did a lot of traveling. And because of where he had to go, his living conditions were never good and oftentimes demanding. His emails were usually long and descriptive and he had a peculiar knack for relating it all to something Biblical. I always liked reading George’s emails. They were uplifting. Getting an email from George was like having a long visit with a dear friend.
Anymore these days, whenever the thought of someone I hadn’t thought of in a while comes to mind out of the blue, I take it as a signal to act. So I went through my emails and saw that the last one I’d gotten from George was received September 2018. It was buried in junk mail and hadn’t ever been opened, so I read it. It was typical George—lengthy, descriptive, thought provoking. It made me wonder if he was still alive, so I did a search. I discovered George passed away in February 2020, just before the onset of covid, and the realization saddens me. The world lost a very bright light that day.
I’m grateful for the inner prompts that inspire me to act.🙏🏽 I’m grateful for adverse situations and challenges that somehow provide the opening to meeting kind-hearted souls we wouldn’t have met otherwise.🙏🏽 I’m grateful for the emails from George, all of which I’ve now put into a separate folder and will read someday.🙏🏽 I’m grateful for all the Georges (and Georgettes) in my life who’ve left an indelible imprint upon my heart.🙏🏽
For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. ~2 Corinthians 4:15
