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