As is the case after any tragedy, disaster or loss, friends and loved ones are there to help in the first week or 2 after a death or accident. The person mourning or coping takes great comfort from those who visit or call or send a card to show they are thinking and praying for them in this very trying time. But what we all fail to see sometimes is that the darkest of days and the deepest of needs comes in weeks 3, 4, 5 and in months 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 after some sad event in a person's life. Those are most often the days when someone needs comfort the most and most likely that is when a person in need finds themselves all alone.
That is my fear for my fellow neighbors here in Joplin who are still reeling from the May 22nd tornado. A story was published on July 11 about 3 suicide deaths now being linked to depression that some victims were suffering with after the tornado. You can read that article here. People have lost their homes, they have lost their jobs and, in some cases, both. Some families had to attend funerals with multiple caskets and then go back to shelters where their belongings are stored near them in totes or plastic bags. More articles are being written warning everyone that some may not have yet reached the low point of their emotions and some darker days are potentially ahead for the victims and their families.
These past few weeks have been so very tough on so many. I even have to admit that it has put my usually cheery self into a funk that has been hard to shake. Our town was in essence cut in half which means it is hard to get from point A to point B without seeing the place where your favorite restaurant used to be or seeing someone's home still standing in the form of one wall with the words "we are ok" spray painted on it. We now get mail from desperate pet owners still searching for their pets that were lost in the storm. The sights and the smells are still everywhere.
So many folks in our town need support now more than ever. They are entering and the darkest and loneliest of days now that the media has moved on and so has many of the volunteers who we are so very thankful for.
So I write this as a way of hopefully showing that Joplin still needs your prayers. The victims still need help and comfort. And maybe this is showing me that I need to be more available to friends and loved ones in the weeks AFTER a funeral or hospital stay and not just in the days before or during. So say a little prayer today for those in Joplin.
