Austin ~ the city I love. Texas ~ the state I adore: Faced with a challenge. Fires. Breaking out all over the central Texas area. Most recently, in Austin at Steiner Ranch. In Leander. In Cedar Creek. In Spicewood. In Smithville. In Bastrop.
In Bastrop alone, the fire spread to more than 25,000 acres. And destroyed 500 homes. More than 5,000 people have been evacuated.
Closer to home the fire dominated Steiner Ranch, where many of our church members and staff live. Families evacuated late Sunday night in a panic ~ and are still not able to return to see the condition of their homes. The fire destroyed at least 24 homes and damaged 30 others.
Unsettling news. And the winds still blow ~ threatening more Texas towns and neighborhoods.
In times like these caring people ask: What can I do? How can I help?
You do the only thing you can do.
You do what you can …
For my girls, it meant singing songs for weary people in need of encouragement at a Red Cross evacuee center.
For you, it might mean: Opening your home to an evacuee family * Volunteering this very morning * Taking in a pet. or supporting efforts to help people with pets.
* Dropping off water or healthy snacks for the fire fighters at nearby churches and evacuation centers * Donating * Giving * Praying …
Just do what you do best.
And please, do what you can.
It’s in that action, Texans will see ~ “amidst the devastation, the acts of grace and kindness prevail.”