God Has Blessed Iowa – 11 June 2008

As floods tear through the Midwest, talk of the apocalypse can be heard.  On December 12, 2007, a crippling ice storm left
many without power throughout the state of Iowa.  On April 18, 2008, the edges of an earthquake rattled a few people out of
their sleep in Eastern Iowa.  On May 25, 2008, an EF-5 tornado tore through the middle of Parkersburg, Iowa.  On June 11,
2008, floods of historic proportions evacuated people from areas that have never seen the kind of devastation that faced
them.  Yet, the people of Iowa push on through the turmoil.

All of this wreckage could leave a group of people in a state of depression.  However, the great people of the state of Iowa are
doing what they always do.  They are banding together and moving forward.  People have donated clothing and food to the
people of Parkersburg and its surrounding areas as they try to help these people cope with the loss of virtually everything
they own.  More volunteers have shown up to fill sandbags in many towns across Iowa than can be accommodated with sand
to fill those bags, including the in the now abandoned downtowns of Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Vinton.  These natural
disasters can destroy the centers of cities, but they cannot touch the hearts and souls of the people of Iowa.  Not once, in any
of the news reports have you seen people screaming for FEMA or blaming President Bush.  Instead, you see entire towns and
cities welcoming FEMA, the National Guard, and the volunteers just as we welcome everyone into our great state, with open
arms.

Some have come to the conclusion that these are the signs of the apocalypse, but there is a much more positive way to see
this.  I feel the need to remind all of my fellow Christians that God does not throw more at us than we can handle.  In a litigious
society where divorce and crime seem to be at an all-time high, God has chosen to remind the country and the world what a
caring and determined group of people can do in the face of adversity.  We are not facing the end; we are merely setting the
bar for compassion.  We will make it through this disaster as we have all others in the past and as we will all others in the
future.  I am proud to say I live in Iowa.

-- The Mermaid