Disaster Fatigue

BY DAVID O’BRIEN

The tornado siren located 50 yards from my front door went off this morning.  I looked out the window to see if a funnel cloud was bearing down on my neighborhood.  Gratefully, a loudspeaker blurted out over the noise of the siren:  “This is a test, this is only a test.”

I took those words to heart.  “A test?  What test?  Are you testing us, Lord?”

I must admit I am a little catastrophe fatigued these days, what with round the clock coverage of every earthquake, tornado, flood, hurricane, tsunami, nuclear meltdown, oil spill, war, and government shutdown.  I feel like I can’t take it anymore.

My email inbox fills up each day with 15 appeals to de-fund somebody or something—the Republicans, the Democrats, Obama, Planned Parenthood, Hollywood, National Public Radio, Wall Street, the banks, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, the EPA, the NRA, factory farms, coal power plants, oil companies, BP, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, the car companies, the Federal Reserve, and my favorite, Disney, who you know are extremists trying to destroy the family.

I sign every petition to keep from being labeled.

My email inbox today included this subject heading:  “Excellent pics of tornado”.  I opened it and I recognized the first question in my “test” from the Lord.  Are you going to allow these pictures to penetrate you or will you just move onto the next thing like the news on TV?

I didn’t like that question.

“What was I supposed to do?  I don’t live near Tuscaloosa or Birmingham.  I have responsibilities of my own.  People much closer to me are still hurting from the oil spill and I don’t know how to help them either.  Maybe I could write a check.  I did that for the Japanese last month.  Yes, that is what I will do.  Isn’t that enough, Lord?”

My co-worker told me she heard about some teens in Semmes who collected donated items until they filled a tractor trailer for the victims of the tornado.

The word is that Catholic Social Services is doing the same.  (Check this issue of The Catholic Week for details in your area.)

Even Walmart has a sign on a bin outside their doors asking for donations.  My co-worker filled an extra shopping cart with household goods because she thought “it could’ve been any one of us”.

“Lord, am I my brother’s keeper?  And if I am, how am I supposed to keep up with all my brother’s needs?”

The next set of test questions from God:  Who matters?  Who moves you to action?  Family members?  Children?  Your friends?  People who look like they are really suffering?

“I don’t think I like this test, Lord.  Could you ease up a little?  I’m doing my best.”

A girl in Tuscaloosa was looking through the wreckage for her prom gown.  She cried because her search was hopeless.  Someone called the TV station and connected with this stricken teenager on the phone.  He offered to pay for a new prom dress for her and for any other girls who needed one.

Bonus Test Question:  If you cannot fix everything, does it justify doing nothing?

“Ok, God.  I think I’m starting to understand.  Because of my relationship with You, these people are my family and I cannot just delete the emails or change the channel to ESPN.  I have to allow You to break my heart so that I can escape my little world of self focused concerns.  The lawn will still be there next week.  The work on my desk isn’t going anywhere.  But these people need me now.  Today.”

Just because the funnel cloud didn’t come down in my backyard doesn’t mean it’s not my problem.  I might not be able to do everything but I can do something.

A young woman who lost her husband and children in a tragic car accident once told me that she used to say:  “There but for the grace of God, go I.”  But now, after years of prayer and healing she says:  “There, with the grace of God, I will go.”

“Maybe that is what you are trying to tell me, Jesus.  You are stretching my heart to include the people you care about.  And you care about everyone.  Everyone matters.  Everyone deserves my attention and my compassion.   Is that why You set off that siren this morning and woke me up for this test?”

I guess I’ll only find out by doing something to help those in need today, and the next people you send my way, and the next….

About David O’Brien David O’Brien is the Associate Director of Religious Education for Lay Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. His column, Everyday Faith, appears regularly in the archdiocesan newspaper, the Catholic Week. Email David at dobrien@mobilearchdiocese.org.