Most people think of the word faith in religious terms, but I associate it with trust - belief that it will get better, even if it never makes sense to us. I've struggled for a long time with the age-old question about why bad things happen - it's unfair! Finally, after many years, I guess I've accepted that fact that things just aren't fair. (I still don't like this though!) Like anyone, to me natural disaster seems particularly unfair. It's unprovoked, it's unavoidable, and it is often catastrophic in scope. I've been fortunate to live in areas where natural disaster is very, very rare - and I've been fortunate to see quite a bit of the world, including areas where natural disaster is commonplace. When I was in my mid-twenties, I took several extended camping trips up & down and back & forth across the USA and one of my favorite places was New Orleans. I am a huge blues and jazz fan, and I love spicy, exotic foods, so I was walking on air during the time I spent in New Orleans. It was such a shock to see the pictures after Hurricane Katrina hit .... So much beauty and history, wiped out. I read an informal poll run by the Salvation Army which reported that approximately 30% of the residents did not want to return to the area. Who will revive the old traditions, and who will carry them on?

I wanted to do something both helpful and symbolic. Thanks to Zoanna and Isabelle for getting the Katrina Bags project going, which were filled with useful toiletries and toys for the displaced survivors! And thanks to Kathie for organizing the Hurricane Katrina Quilt Project, which will ultimately coordinate and create quilts for the stricken states. I've posted previously about the Katrina Bags, but here is my quilt square. This is based on a freebie by Canterbury Designs, but I've changed it to include the wonderful quote (and source of inspiration for today's post) from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Faced with things out of our control, we can only continue on the best we're able. We can only "take the first step in faith."