Black Saturday

Well it’s been a while since I wrote.  Partly it’s because I’ve known what I’ve wanted to cover, but not really known how to say it.

The tragic events of Black Saturday are at the forefront of so many people’s minds, even now, over a month after they happened. It’s hard to find someone in Victoria who hasn’t either lost a loved one, or know of someone who has.  I guess that’s what happens when at least 210 people lose their lives and over 7,000 people are left displaced.

The Salvation Army Training College sent us Cadets out to serve in the various Relief Centres around Victoria.  This was an absolute privilege and the frustrating thing was how limited we were in the help we could offer.

That brings me though to what I want to write about.  The most frustrating thing of all of it for me, was how many times I heard various volunteers say “I did this” or “I did that” or “I got to…” like there is some badge of honour for the work that was being done.  The flip side of this was the people who would complain “I was only folding clothes” or “I didn’t even meet a survivor of the fires, I was stuck cleaning all day!” 

We should not put our hands up to help at these things if at the end of the day it is about me feeling like a good person.  It’s not a matter of glamour people – or something to write home about – something to brag about.  Naturally everyone wants to help in times of crisis, but at the end of the day – it’s not about you. 

God calls us to love and serve.  Sometimes that service will involve folding clothes, other times it will involve sitting with a survivor who is struggling to make sense of what has just happened. 

Let’s remember, at the end of the day – it’s not about us – it’s about loving and serving those who lost everything – no matter how “glamorous” our part in that was.