RESTORATION

There is a marked disparity between restoration and redemption.  Many times in life we are searching for restoration and do not recognize it when it is right before our eyes.  Mr. Webster defines restoration~noun
  1. 1.
    the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition

Redemption is defined as~noun
  1. 1.
    the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.


In most cases we are seeking a former place and condition when addressing restoration .

It has been just over three weeks since the F3 tornado hit my sweet home town.  The past three weeks have found me fighting to hold back tears for the bad--but also the good.  Ruston has once again proven to be exactly where God wants me planted.  The slogan has become RUSTON STRONG since the storm. The outpouring of support, help, and standing shoulder to shoulder with all our neighbors, whose world was turned upside down that night in the blink of an eye, has been heart warming and bolstering of my faith in mankind.  Restoration from those brief minutes of devastation began within minutes of its occurrence.


ALL PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY PAUL BURNS https://www.travelingnorah.com

WHOSE MOTHER AND FATHER LOST THEIR HOME





Mother Nature threw her fury straight at Ruston that night.  Decades old trees which have marked the streets with their majestic beauty became missiles of destruction and sadly death.  Friends literally had their world split right down the middle.




How can we ever restore our city to its former beauty?  How can the lives so many of our friends and neighbors knew ever be restored to the place they were before that brief late night intrusion   explosion?






Life will never be the same, BUT life is still good.  We have been reminded all of this world is temporal, but our relationships--they can be eternal.  The love, goodwill, support, and compassion of our families, friends, neighbors and even strangers have made the horrendous mess into a meeting ground for the good in man.  



The mess will eventually all be cleaned up, homes will be repaired, others will disappear to never be seen again or replaced by today's architectural offerings, and the landscape is forever altered, but from the chaos there has risen great beauty.  The beauty of man's good---his desire to help those in need---his willingness to cry with those who are mourning and stand shoulder to shoulder with his fellow man in the struggle for restoration.  

In most cases restoration is never obtainable.  How do you replace trees which took decades to grow?  How do you calm the fears of those traumatized to the point of terror over any approaching storm?  How do you replace lives lost?  BUT God---lives can be rebuilt, homes can be repaired, fears will quiet with time, and man's faith in his fellow man has received a huge boost.  It may never look the same, but it can still be a glimpse of the great beauty of man's leaning toward hope .

I have been reminded of Job.  All was lost---fortune, home, family, everything was gone.  We are told at the end of the book that all was restored to Job~but there were things he lost that were never returned.  The former was gone, but that did not lessen the good of the present.  Life was forever altered, but life became good once again.  What a gift hope is!  A hope for a beautiful tomorrow, a hope that man will rise up and help those in need, a hope that there is always a rainbow at the end of the storm.  

So thankful to call Ruston home and looking forward to witnessing the restoration of this sweet town to an even better place to live.  


RUSTON STRONG INDEED!

And the God of all grace,
who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
after you have suffered a little while,
will Himself restore you and make you
strong, firm and steadfast.
I Peter 5:10

6 comments

  1. Such devastation, Lulu! Yet, it is precisely in times like these that the best in people come out of the woodwork. No, restoration won't be an overnight thing, that's for sure, but hope and trust in God will see Ruston come through.
    Blessings and prayers!

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    1. You would not believe the path, Martha. 1000 feet wide & 7 miles long. It is indescribable! But God!
      Blessings!

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  2. Praying for all those affected by the storm; and especially for you, Lulu.

    God bless you. Be strong.

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    1. I Thank you, Victor, and my fellow citizens thank you for your prayers.
      Blessings, My Friend!

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  3. Been there, done that and the reason why we will never go back to living in the south again...its just not where we were suppose to be...we fought it for 21 years and then the good Lord called us back here to NY. We were just discussing something similar --we were up at the cemetery taking care of the weeds etc at the family plot...anyways---the good Lord plants us where we are needed, plain and simple...some of us fight those feelings and not do the Lords work. JMO, Lulu. smiles

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    Replies
    1. What a great peace knowing we are where God wants us.
      Blessings, My Friend!

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!