Looking for the Hope in Disasters

With smoke in the air of what seems to be a post-apocalyptic scene where confusion and terror are running rampant, Erin Hayes-Dennis, an award-winning broadcasting journalist is on the scene reporting to the country the events of the Oklahoma City Bombing. This wasn't the first time Hayes witnessed tragedy and it surely wouldn't be the last. Amidst all the chaos and destruction, though, Hayes looked for the hope - something she's continued to do throughout her career, finding the hope through her faith.

Hayes states, "I cannot understand the mind of God. I often don't understand the will of God. In my logical world, some of what He does doesn't make sense to me."

As an award-winning Broadcasting Journalist who worked at KTHS in Berryville, Arkansas, KYTV in Springfield, Missouri, and national broadcasting channels such as CBS and ABC, Hayes mostly covered disasters during her years as an active broadcasting journalist. Hayes witnessed a lot of grieving, suffering, and even death in some cases. This did not phase her faith in any way.

Due to her dedication to her faith, Hayes found local churches in whichever area she was stationed. Because of her very time-consuming job, one would think her faith would diminish, but it never did. It became stronger, overcoming all her challenges as a broadcasting journalist for 34 years.

Through praying, finding local churches, and maintaining relationships with those who were also Christians, Hayes balanced her faith and job.

As a Catholic Christian, Hayes would try her best to find a local church wherever she was be it North Dakota or Florida. If she couldn't find a Catholic Church, Hayes was open to trying out different denominations of Christianity.

"I'm certainly not gonna surrender my relationship with God for my job."

Hayes maintained her relationship with fellow Christians, keeping in touch with her sisters and mother by sharing what she saw that would remind her of God's presence. When discovering fellow Christian colleagues, their shared faith would comfort Hayes. Hayes kept her eyes on God and didn't let her job overtake what was important to her. Even when other colleagues were atheists or disdainful of God, Hayes lived her faith by example.

When asked about weaving her religion into her job, Hayes responds, "It's a part of the weave of my life...If you think of it as a tapestry…, God is just woven into it."

Hayes states, "If my job is to seek truth, a relationship with Jesus Christ is pretty easy."

When interviewing people who lost their loved ones, Hayes truly realized, "Covering tragedies strengthens my faith."

A broadcasting journalist requires a tight and busy schedule, resulting in Hayes not always having the ability to attend services, but she states, “I never lost my faith.”

After retiring from the broadcasting industry, Hayes returned to her Alma Mater, College of the Ozarks, in Point Lookout, Missouri, where she is the Associate Professor of Communication Arts, continuing to practice her faith, looking for hope in disasters.

"My job has been about seeking truth. It's easy to see God in it because Jesus Christ said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.'"