Let me bring you up to speed...April 27th our town was affected by the massive force of the tornadoes that swept across Alabama...fast forward...our town has been affected by the massive force of God's grace and goodness up to this point. I want to document our steps after the storms of God's grace and power and just what can happen if you position yourself to be used by God.
April 29th...2 days after the storms. We went to one of the check points to see if our church could be of any help. We wanted to see what we could do and how to even begin the process. Goods were already being taken in, but that wasn't enough for us. Our people were hurting, and we wanted to know what to do. We wanted to know how to fix this. One guy we encountered described perfectly what we were called to do. Let me tell you about him and his story...He has salt and peppered hair, he wore thick glasses and there was a grin plastered on his face that could only lead me to the conclusion that he was there to help as well. Although he wasn't, he would later go on to tell us that he endured the storm in the most scariest circumstances. He was sitting next to a policeman who looked like he was fresh out of high school, and he was giving him a hard time about "being in charge." You see the people gathered at where we happened to be, were waiting to get back into their town to see what was left from there lives. At this point no one was allowed in due to search and rescue still taking place. This salt and pepper haired man was doing the same as everyone else...waiting to see what all he had lost. He had such a smile on his face and a wonderful spirit surrounding him that there was no way he was waiting to realize what he already knew, that much of his life as he knew it was gone. You see he told us of his time with the storm. He told us about how he covered his child, who was covering his grandchild and how he had prayed that if God had to take any of them would He just take him. As the storm swirled around them and finished its fury, they realized it was over. They climbed out of what was now boards walked out. Once we realized this man was a victim and not there to help as we had first perceived, we asked how we could minister to him. What did he need us to do? In one statement we had our work set before us by a survivor of God's grace. As he answered our question his smile got bigger and his eyes got brighter. He said, "I have everything I need right here" as he pointed to his heart. He went on to tell us, "I know the Truth." He said, "All that in there, pointing to the rubble, is just stuff, none of that matters. What matters is in here, pointing back to his heart." He went on to tell us that he didn't need a thing. The people that were walking around in utter devastation because they don't have hope and faith and the Truth were the ones that we needed to minister to, not him. This was someone who had lost everything, but realized in a second he still had everything of value that really mattered, and in that moment he was rich and blessed. I can't tell you how big the tears were or the chills that ran over my body in the 95 degree heat, but it was the sweetest moment that made me realize how precious my Jesus really was. And so our work was set before us by a sweet man with a friendly grin who had escaped the storm with his most prized possessions...his faith and his family!
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." John 14:6-7
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