This reflection is by Kyle Borkenhagen, a sophomore from Baraboo, Wis.
As Christians, we are taught to place a small significance on material things. Indeed, the first followers of Christ, the disciples, gave up everything — at least all material things — to do God’s work. As Americans, however, we tend to value material things greatly. Whether it is our homes, cars, or gadgets, we thirst for bigger, better and more possessions.
But, if we were to lose everything, as the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast did during Hurricane Katrina, the insignificance of our material possessions would become distressingly apparent.
During our week in Mississippi, we did various tasks — cutting trees, yard work, painting — for people devastated by the hurricane.
The work we did, while important, is not what I will remember most from our trip, however. What remains with me most are the numerous stories we heard from people who live in Biloxi and the surrounding area; people who lost everything in the storm. And, more specifically, I remember one theme that appeared in almost every story we were told: When all material possessions were lost, the people affected by Katrina realized what was far more essential: faith, family, and love. Those aspects of life become their only significant concerns and priorities.
A coroner named Jason Green told a story that speaks to this understanding. Jason was placed in charge of a county morgue, which would eventually include refrigerated trailers that provided storage for the 200-some people lost in the storm around Biloxi in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Jason, who is a funeral director in more normal times, told us about the destruction of the storm, but more importantly, the devastation of the people who lost everything in the hurricane. The storm was a traumatic experience for everyone on the gulf, including Jason. He was stuck in Biloxi without his family; he was helping people search for lost or dead loved ones; his home was destroyed in the 30-foot flood of water; he lived, like everyone else, without access to plentiful supplies of food or clean water; and he was without access to the outside world for three weeks.
Jason told us that in his time of loss and misery the one thing that kept him going was his faith in the Lord. Furthermore, he said the storm gave him a greater appreciation for the love he shares with God, his family, and his friends.
As I’ve return to Wisconsin and UW-Stevens Point, I plan to bring with me the spirit Jason and other hurricane victims have acquired. Although I have not lost all of my worldly possessions, I hope, because of my experience and witness in Biloxi, I will appreciate God, my family, and my friends more than I did before our trip. And, most importantly, I hope I can better place love — love for God and love for others — above material things, which is something, as Christians, we are all taught to do anyway.
