Wake {31 Days of Five-Minute Free Writes}

"You live your life like a tornado; destruction follows everywhere you go."

For me, those Sara Groves lyrics bring to mind very specific people and situations. Do you know any of those tornado folks—the ones who seem to spin out of control with no concern for who is affected, who is reeling in devastation from their actions, lack of action, words?

Every one of those stormy individuals leaves behind a wake of hurting people, who must pick up the debris of a chaos they didn't cause and attempt to go on with life. I have not had such a person very close to me; I have not personally been left in the wake. But the song goes on to say, "It hurts when you hit at the hearts of the ones I love." And it does.

I hurt for the abandoned wife, the left behind children, the verbally abused, the financially taken advantage of, the brainwashed, the emotionally wounded. I hurt for them and feel angry at their storm and helpless to do anything about it. It's a vulnerable, powerless feeling.

But I do the one thing I can.

I pray for those left in the wake, for God can both calm the storm and rebuild the ruins.

This post is part of 31 Days of Five-Minute Free Writes, an exercise in writing a timed, prompted post every day during the month of October. For me, it's a challenge to move beyond prideful perfectionism, to write more freely, and to share more openly.