This week my thoughts were bound up in the images of the death and devastation left behind in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Watching the suffering and need endured by so many rips at my heart to such a degree that I found it hard to look at the images.
Amazingly, there are others, including our own Cajun Navy, who when they see disasters like this occurring, it acts as a beacon shining upon their servant hearts and beckons them into action. Answering the call, they risk their own lives and rush to aid, rescue, and assist those impacted by this epic storm.
In tribute to those for whom sacrifice in service to others is their clarion call of faith, I offer the following poem penned by Edgar Guest.
It’s singular reference to the masculine gender likely bars the poem’s familiarity or popularity in today’s more inclusive society, but its message is one that is a universally needed reminder to us all. And it is certainly apropos for saluting those who are currently on the front-line bringing relief to the scores of victims of Hurricane Helene.
He Who Serves
He has not served who gathers gold,
Nor has he served, whose life is told
In selfish battles he has won,
Or deeds of skill that he has done;
But he has served who now and then
Has helped along his fellow men.
The world needs many men today;
Red-blooded men along life’s way,
With cheerful smiles and helping hands,
And with the faith that understands
The beauty of the simple deed
Which serves another’s hour of need.
Strong men to stand beside the weak,
Kind men to hear what others speak;
True men to keep our country’s laws
And guard its honor and its cause;
Men who will bravely play life’s game
Nor ask rewards of gold and fame.
Teach me to do the best I can
To help and cheer our fellow man;
Teach me to lose my selfish need
And glory in the larger deed
Which smooths the road, and lights the day
For all who chance to come my way.
**************************
If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the Lord will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. –Isaiah 58:10-11
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque