In Greensburg

Home for the weekend, but we’re heading back to Haviland and Greensburg shortly this afternoon. Greensburg — and what we saw, heard and learned last week — has been in my thoughts most of the weekend. I’m sure it affected the students, too. I’m anxious to hear their thoughts when they return for another week of class.

At church this morning, good friend Donna Schupp had our Sunday school lesson on patience and impatience. I tend toward the latter. I’m like the bumper sticker Donna cited: “Give me patience, Lord; and I want it now!”

The discussion on patience/impatience made me think about the people of Greensburg and others in surrounding communities who were hit by the May 2007 tornado. Those we interviewed and met last week seem to have amazing endurance, considering the hardships they suffered.

We’re not talking about being stuck in traffic or waiting in a long line at a store or the Department of Motor Vehicles. The people in the Greensburg area are trying to rebuild their lives, many with the help of hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who have come from all over the United States. A relative who was at a family gathering over the weekend asked me if the Greensburg downtown had been rebuilt. Patience, I told her. It’s only been a year.

Author M.J. Ryan wrote that “the more we see life as messy and unpredictable, and people bumbling through life the best they can, the more patience we bring to trying situations.” Life in the Greensburg area has been messy and unpredictable since the tornado. But I don’t get the sense of bumbling at all. What we’ve witnessed so far among those we’ve met is an extraordinary degree of patience and hope for a better future, despite trying times.

We look forward to hearing more of their stories and sharing them with you this coming week.