Assuming the burden of unfinished business (Lesson 5)

On many occasions, the Gulf Coast families have brought anxiety over unfinished business with them to Kansas. This unfinished business can be a heavy load on their minds. For example, I met with an extended family at their motel over the weekend. They were very worried about a 17-year-old neighbor who was left behind. They had no room for him in their car and did not want to seperate him from his parents who were not at home at the time. Plus, the boy would not leave his pet behind (bless him). The boy was the friend of one of the teenagers in this family who was very upset about his friend's isolation. They were living in an area where Rita came ashore (the eye of the storm passed over their property).

As they talked about their efforts to alert authorities to this young man, I realized what they needed: someone in authority to take the load off their shoulders. The act of writing down what they told me about the boy and his location and promising to do all I could to help him made a visible difference in the mother and her sons. At the time, I was not certain how much we could help given the circumstances. But I could try (we’ve been doing a lot of that at Red Cross). I could feel the burden being transferred from them to me. I don’t want to get all mystical here… but that transfer felt tangible at that moment. They were no longer responsible for getting help. They were freed from the burden. I felt the great responsibility for trying on my shoulders.

Of course, I made it clear to them that my “worker bees” students and I might not be able to reach anyone who could get to the boy. What I promised was persistent trying. I had the information to do the work. The feeling of providing this relief was very rewarding to me. I was willing to do whatever I could to see to it that the young man was rescued, knowing full well the near-impossible task it would be. They understood this difficulty but knew that my promise would be fulfilled.

Happy ending. The family called the Red Cross Sunday night to report that the boy had been rescued by a shrimp boat. No word on the pet, but I would bet it was in his arms when he climbed aboard.