Day 7 - May My Steps Be Worship

Friday morning began in the same way that the other mornings had. We had breakfast and a devotional at Hilltop Rescue, but then things changed. We were getting ready to go back to Ohio. Mattresses and cots were stacked to one side of our classroom. The floors were swept and then mopped to get the room ready for the next group of volunteers. To make it easier for us to deal with a stop halfway home, we were instructed to pack a clean change of clothes and toiletries in a garbage bag to take on the bus. Then, in Tennessee, we wouldn't have to unload the whole bus.

We unpacked the bus before we packed it--we had brought bottled water, which we took to the storage areas near the kitchen and dropped off. Then we loaded up in the bus. On our way out of Chalmette, and out of Louisiana, I saw all the devastation I had seen on the way in. It was harder, I think, to look at things in reverse.

I was leaving Louisiana behind with so much work done--but I was also leaving with so much more work undone. The ride away was a lot quieter, since everybody was tired from the week. I remembered one of the songs from this morning's devotional--a new song...

Father God (also known as "Just For This Day"):
Verse:
Father God, just for this day
Help me to walk, your narrow way
Help me to stand, when I might fall
Give me strength to heed your call

Chorus:
May my steps be worship
May my thoughts be praise
May my words bring honor to your name
(repeat)

Thinking of the devastation we were leaving behind, the homes we were leaving behind, and the lives we were leaving behind, I wondered how I would feel when I did get back to Ohio.