When Martha Bailey thinks about what God did after Hurricane Katrina, she said it seems surreal, like it didn’t happen. But she knows it happened — because she was there.
A native of Brantley, Bailey moved to Louisiana in 1970. Now she and her husband, Waylon, live in Covington, La., where he is pastor of First Baptist Church.
Bailey and her husband evacuated before Katrina hit in August 2005. When they returned, they found their community littered with trees, with three on their house. Stores were closed, electricity was out and phone lines were down. Soon relief workers were asking the church: “What do you need?”
“We were so overwhelmed that we didn’t know what we needed,” Bailey said. “We were supposed to be doing something but we didn’t know what.” As the church staff discussed its options, she sensed God telling her three things:
– “I have an awesome opportunity for you, but you don’t have long to decide whether or not to do it.”
– “This is not going to be easy. You will have to count the cost.”
– “Look at your community and see what you need. Pick three areas to focus on and stick to it.”
First, Covington, La., accepted God’s invitation and chose three focus areas: food, supplies for babies and personal hygiene items.
Soon God began confirming the decision. One morning, a truck arrived at the church with $1 million worth of baby goods. Another day, two pallets of high-quality coffee were donated.
“You couldn’t wait to get there every morning to see what God was going to bring,” Bailey said.
The church’s recreation building became a warehouse, with three tents set up in front. When people came to receive goods, they never even got out of their cars. Instead they waited in a line of cars, where volunteers greeted them, listened to their stories, prayed with them and offered cold water and Bibles. Then volunteers loaded goods into their trunks. People came discouraged but left honking their horns and waving.
“It was amazing to watch their countenance,” Bailey said.
As Covington began to get on its feet again, she and the church decided to throw a Christmas party for New Orleans’ Southern Baptist pastors.
It was like a reunion for the pastors, Bailey said. “Some had not seen each other since before Katrina. You could tell they were so happy to be together, yet you could see the trauma in their faces.”
First, Covington, La., gave monetary gifts to the pastors’ families and gift bags to the women. The bags included pecans, which Bailey persuaded local grocery stores to donate. The stores’ district manager was happy to donate them; his family in Mississippi was rescued and cared for by a Baptist church following Katrina.
First, Covington, La., also held a shower for a pastor’s wife who had lost practically every possession during the storm and a year after Katrina, gave $200,000 that was divided among 20 churches in southern Louisiana.
Today daily life is back to normal for most Covington residents, but Bailey’s heart has changed forever.
“I saw God provide in a way that I didn’t think He could,” she said. “Sometimes, at church, we say things and know the Bible teaches it, but until you experience certain things, you don’t know that they really are true.”
And despite the heartache, Bailey said she’s glad she didn’t miss Katrina. “I saw how God can work all things together for good,” Bailey said. “What happened to us was not good, but I watched Him do some beautiful things through it.
“We found where God was working and we joined Him — and it was incredible.”
To learn more about how God has worked in Bailey’s life, check out her new devotional book for women,
“Putting My Dress-up Clothes Away: Because Big Girls Live in the Real World,” available at insightpress.net or by calling 1-877-214-7927.
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