The Flood – a Family Focus

As we look at Helene, many stories are emerging. One is quite weird. Another has irony all in it. Some are quite valiant.

Weird … Verizon. Yesterday, the re reports came from all over the south of Verizon wireless going off line. From Arizona to Florida, it was reports of phones only having ‘SOS’ service. It didn’t happen in my little town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, but my commonwealth is a bit north of the issues. If it really happened, imagine the panic of not having any communication, no life line to the outside world, no way of texting or even getting alerts and alerts. No way to connect to families longing for updates.

Irony … Elon Musk had offered StarLink access in the US, but the present administration cut the budget and removed StarLink. However, now, Musk is giving access to his satellites and providing stations for people to reach out and connect to family and loved ones. In areas with no power, cell towers destroyed, and no way of communicating … Musk is helping. And the present admin is now reaching out to Musk and asking for StarLink to assist. How does crow taste?

Valiant … thousands of people helping. First Responders coming from all around. Helicopter pilots running shuttles and more. Linesman out in the harsh weather, working the lines to restore power. Millions, probably billions of dollars, being raised to help. Much of these resources are being funneled through local church and church ministry, The family of the Lord shine in disaster … resources and time, and lots of prayers. Our mantra is pray, give, go. And we do all three.

Valiant … I read one story of a man parking and hiking 11 miles through farmland and woods that were no longer passable by vehicle just to reach his isolated parents to make sure they were okay. Wow, that son deserves the title of ‘fav son’ and a special box under the tree from Santa.

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Imagine Noah’s day … Noah and his kids doing a family project. And when the Ark’s door was closed, the family was kept together.

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Yesterday, FaceBook was giving me a notice to reach out to my mother for her birthday. My mother passed away over a year ago. Okay, I did pray a little prayer of thanksgiving for her impact on my life, and I felt a little sense of loss.

Imagine if she was still around, and if I was caught in the one of the flood impact communities … what efforts would I go to in order to connect with my family?

if you have someone out there … in a flood zone or not … maybe you need to reach out to them. Maybe they know you’re okay, but you should still just stay connected.

Noah lost connection to everyone outside his family, but he stayed connected to his family.

Don’t wait for an event like Noah or Helene. Reach out today.