Auburn and Alabama fans have combined efforts to help the victims in Alabama, a beautiful reconciliation for a bigger purpose!
When our eldest son decided to attend Auburn University, his grandfather and namesake, an Alabama graduate, began barraging him with Auburn jokes…one of the cleaner ones went like this…
How do you get an Auburn student off your porch?
Pay him for the pizza!
In recent months, disasters of varying degrees have hit the campuses, bringing strange results. An insane (truly) Alabama fan decided to poison the ancient oaks at Toomer’s Corner, the traditional place of celebration for Auburn fans. “Tide for Toomer’s” was born — Alabama fans who collected money to help Auburn in its restoration of the famed Toomer’s Corner.
Now a much worse disaster has hit the hometown of the University of Alabama and the state of Alabama, tornadoes ripping through, killing 213 and making parts of the state unrecognizable.
I talked with my son yesterday. He said, “Mom, the students here want to get in their cars and go DO something. But it’s not what they need right now. They can help best by staying here.” He had spent his day in meetings with the Student Government as they planned responses. Three things he recommended really apply to all of us who watch the news with sadness at the devastation wrought on the Southeast these last few days:
1. Pray. Pray broadly and pray specifically. Pray for the family of the person who was found dead in a tree. Pray for the traumatized. Pray for the damaged businesses. Pray for hope. Pray.
2. Give blood. Kirby said the Red Cross desperately needs blood. The AU SGA is sponsoring a large blood drive on campus today, but any of us can go to our local center and donate.
3. Give money to the Red Cross. They are the ones equipped to handle such disasters, and the money will be well-used.
Of course it’s not that simple, because we have questions and our hearts ache. There is more to do. There is more to understand. I turn to the Apostle Paul who reminds me that while I may never understand the suffering of natural disasters fully, there are clear ways to respond. Scotty Smith writes, “It’s the difference between expecting ‘because’ answers to difficult questions versus looking for ‘so that’ answers to difficult events. ‘Because’ answers focus on giving a good reason; ‘so that’ answers are more concerned about giving a godly response.” Scotty Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Restoring Broken Things.
Read the Apostle Paul’s words regarding suffering…
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on oura behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
