My Katrina Story

By: Chad Gilman

Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"

20 years ago this month Katrina devastated Louisiana. I went through Katrina and it was one of the most difficult and stressful things I've ever gone through. It wrecked New Orleans, it was like Armageddon. More then 1300 lives were lost. It took years to rebuild, but the city came back.

I helped in a small way bring a few homes back to life. I helped families put their lives back together. I went all in for 2 years trying to help do my part. The city was forever changed. It changed me forever as well. I left New Orleans in 2009. I live across the lake in a suburb of New Orleans. I don't think I can live in a city that's in a bowl ever again.

Going through a disaster like this does something to you that you can't really describe unless you go through it...it leaves some life marks that stay with you as well. Katrina unleashed different degrees of trauma on ALL people who went through it. I can't imagine the trauma of being trapped in an attic or having loved ones die there like some did. Or being stuck at the Superdome days without food or water. But being in that city and watching the worst case scenarios play out for people just made it clear how easy it could be you, in that worst case situation.

Katrina made me hyper-vigilant and overly prepared for years to come. Anytime a hurricane would come I was probably the guy you wanted to be with. Katrina made me feel like I had to always be ready during crisis moments. And it wasn't just hurricanes, it was just a lot of things in life, I always felt like I had to be the person to be ready and to take care of things so it didn't spin out of control. Katrina made me really become a person who felt the need to control things in my life. This flight or fight mode would kick in a lot during times of stress or things getting hectic in my life. For several days after Katrina hit I didn't sleep much because I thought my home and my 3 other properties flooded. I thought my whole life was going to be turned upside down. For several days I thought I may become a refugee like some of these other people and be moving to God knows where.

When I was able to drive back into the city before you're even able to drive back into the city, to see my homes were still there and they weren't flooded, it gave me this huge sense of relief. I realized at that moment I was going have to go all in to get things back in order in my own life, which I did.

I did not expect to lose my dog just days after Katrina hit but that's how it played out. She was my best buddy for 16 years through college and when we moved across the country to New Orleans. She was always at my side. It was a really tough loss I did not expect on top of Katrina.

I fixed up my homes quickly and rented them out, as there was just a desperation for housing. Living in that city those few months after the storm hit was just crazy. Finding gas was next to impossible. Driving over an hour to get groceries. Running off a generator and living "off grid like" in a city was very difficult. Having this constant fear of people with guns driving around that somebody may break in. It was really survival of the fittest for the beginning few weeks living in New Orleans.

Some people left New Orleans and never came back. A lot of people lost their jobs or became unemployed for months. I just took the approach of I'm going to jump right in and help other people. I quit my sales job and for two years I became a full-time contractor, with a motley crew of about 8 guys and we worked nonstop helping people get back into their flooded homes. My website was called Restoring Nola. Home owners were living in FEMA trailers in their front yard while we were fixing up their homes, waiting to get back in, so it was this constant adrenaline mode I was in trying to get it done. It started to become a habit where I felt like it was me having to get it done and it became this "all on me" feeling with many things in my life.

I don't think Katrina was something God wanted, it just happened. The stories of tragedy were all over the news. There were also stories of people helping people. The government didn't save the day. It was the people who went and got a boat and started helping people get off their roofs. It was the people sharing their water and food with others when they didn't have much to share. It was the people operating with the fruits of the spirit and love that really made the difference. When the city came back it was beacause of the people who gave all they could give to help people who really needed it. That was the spark the city needed to come back.

God was really working in those dark days of Katrina through a lot of people helping people do a lot of good. There was also a lot of bad happening and that was just the nature of life. Darkness and light were clashing all in one major disaster as it unfolded for many people to watch on the news.

I made it through Katrina, I made it through the recovery, I became stronger in ways that I did not know I could become strong in. I worked my way through it and powered my way through it, but I didn't have one key thing that I wish I would've had, as it would've been a lot lighter back then. I think it would've not turned into this control complex that Katrina gave me. The yolk could've been so much easier to carry back then.

What I have today that I didn't have 20 years ago is a stronger foundation with God in it. What I have now is a stronger relationship with God.  I know God's got my back and I'll get through it...even another Katrina.

Sure you have to be prepared, have things in order in your life, but it doesn't have to feel like it's "all on you", because it does not have to be that way. He can help carry this load and make things lighter, especially when things fall apart in the world or your life.

Watching this documentary on National Geographic about Katrina brought back some memories. Watching my 8 mm camcorder videos I made 20 years ago was kind of a healing process for me. In this video I made, it just shows a snapshot of how quickly life can seem to be normal and everything's going your way...then out of nowhere a Katrina can hit your life and just happen, or you can lose a loved one or a loved pet, your home, your job...just like that and there's nothing you can do about it but just get through it.

I'm starting to really get this more and more, especially this last year in my life, we can get through it a lot easier with God with us, because that is what God offers to us. Jesus tells us we can be yoked with Him and our load will be much easier with Him. (Mathew 11:28-30)

I am so grateful 20 years later that my wife has been the one who's helped me find God in the way I truly needed. Having a wife and friend like this is one of the best blessings ever.

When the next Katrina comes in your life remember this verse...The Lord is my life and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid? -Psalm 27.1

Check out My Katrina Story Video