As I write this, we are in the midst of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. The stories, photographs and video coming out of the area are hard to believe. If it weren't happening in the United States, I wonder how many of us would be glued to the television as we are now.

For the past two or three days, I could no longer handle watching the devastation. I began to feel hopeless, guilty and angry. I'm sure I am not the only one. The helplessness is overwhelming. It's not surprising that we've heard of New Orleans' police officers committing suicide.

It's not surprising that weve heard of looting and anarchy. I have to keep asking myself what I would do in that situation. I'm not sure anyone knows until they are there.

We all have our opinions of how things should have gone, whether we think of FEMA or other governmental agencies. We all have our opinions when it comes to the time that lapsed between the actual hurricane and the response to the hurricane.

Our opinions, as reasonable or unreasonable as they are, are just that. Opinions.

Most of the time we express our opinions out loud, to those we love or to those who we know will agree with us. I realize it is a way of venting our frustratio; I've been there, done that many times over and still am.

It's easy for me to express my opinions when I'm sitting on the couch with a cold Coke in one hand and food in the fridge, with the remote in the other hand and the option of changing the channel to the US Open or some other sporting event.

Unfortunately, the people in the Gulf don't have that luxury. What they would give to trade places...

My point is this, we cannot fathom the fear, pain and heartache that are enveloping the survivors and emergency crews. Empathy can only go so far, yet that's about as far as most of us can go. The chasm between the affected and the unaffected in times like this is massive. We can turn off the television or radio.

The affected cannot.

We can run down the street to the grocery store.

The affected cannot.

We still complain about the traffic, our finances, our love life, our weight and the weather.

Oh, what the people in the Gulf would give to have only those things to complain about. I know, I know, life must go on. Yes, we have to keep moving forward despite feeling weighed down by the news of this catastrophe.

In my view, however, one of the biggest lessons those of us outside of the area can learn is to be grateful for the every day "problems" we complain about. We must learn how to be happy through every day existence because, as Matthew 25:13b (NIV) says, "...you do not know the day or the hour."

Someone once wrote, "I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?"

The truth is, dirty laundry doesn't matter when you are faced with death, but love does. So be sure to remember that God loves you and spread that love to your loved ones over and over again.

We can never express too much love and we can never receive too much love.

Rev. Denise Cordova is pastor of Light of the Soul Christian Ministries, which meets every Sunday @ 7:00 PM in Reno, NV. Denise is a Jesus activist in the gltb community and is proud to proclaim God’s love for all people. You may contact her at liteofthesoul@aol.com or (775) 323-2798.