Century Flood

There once was a town on the river,
Whose heart was that of a giver.
When the water would rise,
That heart swelled in size,
And everyone chose to deliver.

It’s not a perfect sentiment but it isn’t Friday either.

I’m so proud of our town, of our Volunteers and our “Can Do” attitude in Nashville and Tennessee.

There is a wonderful article here: Section 303 regarding the way people have reacted to this tragedy and the reason the rest of the world has ignored it. I am finding such a joy in the realization that our care for one another is becoming much more of a story than either the tragedy or the chaos that many cities would have suffered from such a tragedy.

I don’t know the statistics. I don’t know if tragedies can truly be measured. I only know that this flood is a bad deal. It’s a kick in the shins to so many businesses, families and individuals. It’s a rug pulled out from under people who were just getting back up on their feet. It’s a death to some dreams and a pause to some motivation.

Thankfully, “we are Nashville.”

I get emotional when I think about the reaction of our dear neighbors. The immediate compassion, the unspoken determination among friends who just stand up without question and move to help. The businesses and churches around the area who have paid their employees to work in neighborhoods instead of offices. The nameless “guy” who brought his grill and a heap of hot dogs to the corner to feed all the volunteers. The photographer who is offering free portraits for families that lost all their pictures. The artist who recorded her song and is donating every penny from those who download the file to relief efforts. The people all over the state who are going through their homes dividing nearly in half, what they have so they can give to those who lost.

There are so many stories and examples of outreach. The number of volunteers who signed up through Hands On Nashville was astounding. People are just walking into houses with their tools and equipment to help people they’ve never met before. Our government agencies are functioning well, because our people are helping instead of getting in the way. There is an article about inmates sandbagging for many hours to save the only operational water treatment facility. There are articles about people helping people, animals, houses and business. Just the e-mails coming to my lonely inbox with opportunities to serve or donate are encouraging.

Nashville lost a lot last weekend, but there is something so much greater being revealed as the flood waters recede. Nashville is more than music city, more than a town with good restaurants, a football team or a even the buckle of the Bible belt. Nashville is a town that lives out loud what we have been producing in our music, our services our entertainment and our publishing. Nashville has been this community all along, we’ve been singing about it, writing about it and preaching it for years. Now, we get to act on it. And maybe what is really special about Nashville, isn’t what we say or what we do, but rather that those two things actually match up. Nashville has integrity. I’m so glad for that.

I know not every individual here has it. I know not every song was produced because the record company wanted to get out the message more than they wanted the profit. I know that our publishing houses and our lawyers and our producers and musicians need to make a living and integrity doesn’t always factor in to day to day work. But as push has come to shove…underneath it all there was a foundation that couldn’t be destroyed by greed or selfishness.

Nashville has always had a message. Whether it was through the thousands of books that come out of our publishing houses, a sermon from the churches on every corner or the music that we are known for around the world, we have more often than not, shared the golden rule in some form or fashion. Treat others the way you would like to be treated, share what you have, lift up those who are down, love God and people and not things, smile, tell the truth, shake hands and forgive each other. Nashville has taken this opportunity to share that message with an even greater voice, a deeper passion and a sweeter harmony. Our citizens, that may have never taken the stage before, are now our greatest singers.

I hope the world is listening.