The tears really have been infrequent these last almost-three years. I wrote on here about the 2nd anniversary of Katrina and that connecting piece with my seminary classmate, Larry Motz, who died Palm Sunday 2006, and the crying jag that caused.
Today while perusing the web, I was reading the blog of the Executive Director of the Beatitudes Society, the Reverend Anne Howard. Read more about this wonderful group at their website. The first of June Anne led a second group of seminarians who are part of the society for another week of hard work at Camp Coast Care. My wife and I, as we did last year, spent an evening with them telling the stories, answering questions. On Anne’s blog recently she reflected on their experience and included comments from some of the seminarians. I was so moved by what they had to say, and I really appreciate the “fresh eyes” they used to report their experiences.
Then one of them went and said THIS:

“Another story that struck me was that of Rev. David Knight. As the rector of the local Episcopal Church, David was saddened by the destruction of St. Patrick’s, but he was one of the lucky ones whose home was left relatively unharmed. From the base of security that he and his wife were able to maintain, which included continuing support from the church, they were among the few who were in a position to act as caregivers. Three years after the storm, the wells from which they had been gathering the necessary strength to provide care seemed to be drying up, and it was obvious that he and his wife desperately needed spiritual and personal renewal if they were to continue as caregivers. I was impressed by the care that he and his wife had been providing but saddened by the sight of their clearly ebbing strength.”

Is that the impression I give people – ebbing strength? Or is it just the truth? I wept as I read it, so there must have been some truth in it. I FELT what he wrote as I read it. How weird is that?
So the BIG question – how do we recharge, replenish, refuel – for as you can tell from all their reports and many others, there is MUCH more to be done.