God's Faithfulness in the Storm
“Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common.”
Hurricane Helene caused horrible destruction to the southeast. In its wake it left severe flooding in North Carolina and other areas, trees smashed through homes and cars, and people without power, water, or cell service, just to name a few. There’s been over 150 deaths, people have been trapped in their homes, and others have been isolated without the ability to get help. The horrible impact of this storm will be felt for years to come.
In the wake of the disaster, neighbor has taken care of neighbor. People have donated to provided food, water, and other goods to these communities. Linemen have traveled from all over the US and Canada to help restore power. Workers have cleared roads to get to people in need. Pilots have rescued those trapped in their homes from the flood. There are too many stories to list here. After one of the worst natural disasters the southeast has experienced of late, we have seen some of the best of people showing up for those in need. I’ve been floored by the generous and loving spirit of those in my community, and I’ve been awestruck at the sovereignty of God.
I was also impacted by this hurricane. I live in the lovely town of Thomson, GA where I serve as the new pastor of Macedonia Methodist Church. I never expected to endure a hurricane within a month of starting this pastoral appointment. It was terrifying hearing the howling winds and debris hit our home around 5AM. As my infant and toddler daughters were asleep in our room, I prayed with great fear and anxiety throughout the rest of the storm. I’m grateful we did not receive any damage to our home and that we still had power. However, my relief that we still had power was short-lived. A few hours later we lost power, and shortly after that we lost cellular. It’s incredible how quickly we felt totally alone and isolated from the rest of the world.
I didn’t have much time to process the anxiety that came from isolation from my loved ones further away because I needed to go check on my church loved ones nearby. Fortunately, I had followed the Spirit’s prompting a week earlier and printed out our member list with all their addresses! I and my choir director were able to go check on everyone. We were grateful that besides having no power or running water, they were largely well. And then I made the difficult decision to cancel our church service on Sunday.
And though we were fortunate to be physically well after the storm, it was sad to cancel our church service and I was filled with anxiety that my family had no idea if we were okay because we couldn’t reach them. But the benefit of canceling church service was that I was able to evacuate my family to my parents in Gwinnett County. We all took a huge sigh of relief when cell service returned on our route and we were able to call them and hear their voices again!
The next bit of my story merits a confession: I didn’t want to come to church that Sunday. I was sad about canceling service at my own church and exhausted from the previous days. So when I was invited to help serve communion, my heart and mind said no. But I said yes anyway because that’s what you do when you’re a pastor! 😉 I’m sure glad I did.
Gwinnett Global Methodist Church where my parents and brother attend was having a Worship in the Park to celebrate their one year anniversary as a Global Methodist Church. It was an opportunity for both celebration and community outreach. During my time there I made a call to give to support my community in need. The congregation quickly responded to the call.
Gwinnett Global Methodist Church members, their missions committee, and a few of my other friends helped raise approximately $825 toward disaster relief in Warren and McDuffie counties. On Monday my dad (Greg), my infant daughter (Savannah), and I delivered nonperishable foods, bottled water, gasoline, menstrual pads, baby wipes, and formula directly to many homes. There was such an overwhelming amount that there were still some goods available for others in need in our community. My congregation at Macedonia Methodist Church and others I spoke with responded with a resounding “THANK YOU” for their generosity.
While I knew that I wanted to provide for my congregation and community, the Spirit also detoured us to a neighborhood in Richmond County. This detour began at the Worship in the Park and it’s a powerful story.
At the park a family stopped by to join the service. I felt led to go speak with them and met a wonderful woman named Najma. I found out that her mom (Brady) lives in Augusta and Najma hadn’t heard from her since the hurricane. I shared that we were taking supplies and that I’d love to do a wellness check on her. We exchanged contact info and went on our way after church.
When we arrived at Brady’s house, we were thrilled to find her doing very well. Even with the circumstances she was in (no power or cell service), she was easily one of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met and was filled with the love of Christ. We asked if she or any of her neighbors needed the goods we brought, and she walked us around the neighborhood to ask around. As we walked around, we found ourselves surrounded by disasters such as a tree smashed over a car, gutters torn down, and damaged roofs. Our heart broke for their neighborhood, and yet I found myself overjoyed that God led us here.
We should have never known about the need in that community. But God knew the need. God connected a very tired pastor and a daughter worried for her mother at a church that neither of them attends. When God connected us, not only did we get to meet her sweet mom Brady, but we were able to provide food and water to folks in her neighborhood who desperately needed it.
Wow. What a mighty God we serve.
God used those who gave and our delivery, as we “held everything in common,” to serve people we would have never known to find. We didn’t know them, but God did. God saw that neighborhood. And God sent us to them.
I know there are many whose stories are much more heartbreaking than mine. But I also know we serve a God who sees people in the midst of their distress, and leads His people to those in need. If you feel the Spirit prompting you to go, go. If you feel prompting to give, give. If you feel prompting to speak, speak. God will multiply that act of faith in ways you can’t even imagine.
What a mighty God we serve. Hallelujah!