Following an unbelievable week throughout Schoharie county, I have been reminded of one simple but profound truth about the world in which we live, JESUS CHRIST is the only rock solid foundation & hope! Not a bank account... not a retirement plan... not elaborate health coverage... and not a home built of wood, concrete, and steel... I am reminded that all of these "man-made" safety nets are temporary and susceptible to disappear at a moment's notice... but my SAVIOR is constant!
We are experiencing this truth in the aftermath of a violent storm that has devastated thousands of our neighbors, friends, & families.
A severe storm that no one could have predicted or been prepared for...
A kind of storm many believed would never affect the Northeast...
And a costly storm that many believed they were exempt from being crippled by...
But the outcome has been far different than anyone expected & far more heart breaking than any of us assumed it could be.
I have been incredibly encouraged by the messages I have received from many Christ followers who leapt into action even while the rain was still falling, and jumped at the opportunity to serve those in need during and after the flood waters rose. There are so many incredible stories of love, generosity, and community that have come out of this moment in our lives, and I believe that God allows these situations that initially we call "horrible" for a number of reasons that can ultimately lead to a greater good...
=> He wants to draw people together to experience a better QUALITY of community
=> He wants to give us tangible reminders that His Son, Jesus Christ, could control the wind, the waves, and the storms
=> He seeks to remind us of His awesome power and majesty
=> He wants us to remember what really is more important that the "STUFF" we invest so much in
=> He wants to help us identify any "IDOLS" we so often allow to take over the throne of our lives
=> He wants to remind us how BLESSED we are to live in the U.S.A. because of the infrastructure that exists to come in after a crisis and offer immediate assistance with people, money, and resources... God has abundantly blessed America!!
=> He wants us to more intentionally love our neighbor as ourself
=> He wants us to look for opportunities outside of our comfort zone to serve others, and to not think more highly of ourselves than we should, but look for moments to imitate the life of our Savior.
But above all else I believe that God allows these sort of events to happen because it gives HIS BRIDE the CHURCH (the people of God, not a building) thousands of opportunities to WITNESS and TESTIFY of the SAVING LOVE of JESUS. I have heard of more divine appointments where faith in Christ has been shared in the last week than in my entire life!
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
God's Will is that everyone would meet His Son and discover His grace through repentance... and throughout this devastation I believe seeds are being planted all over the Northeast as we, the Bride of Christ, shift into high gear, one person at a time, to reach out and tell His story through our lives.
Many who call Cobleskill Wesleyan their home church have asked what are we doing as a church to help... and here is your answer for right now... GO GET INVOLVED!!
IN THE SHORT TERM: LIKE TODAY... LIKE RIGHT NOW!!
There are cleanup projects... there are shelters... there is food to be cooked & delivered... and there is contact information that has went out from the church office over the last week to give you the means with which to connect with a way to serve. So in the short term, we would waste time, talents, and resources by trying to reinvent the wheel of emergency responders as an "organization", just go jump in and BE the church all throughout the county! Don't wait for someone to ask you to help... go ASK SOMEONE else how you can help... and if you don't know where to start, grab a pair of gloves, drive down to Schoharie or Middleburgh and find someone who looks exhausted and ask them what you can do to help!!
IN THE LONG TERM:
We all understand that the National Guard, FEMA, Duracell, TIDE, the NYS government, and others here temporarily serving us will not be in our communities forever. They are doing a great job at emergency response and we can assist them right now through volunteerism... but the day will come in the near future when another disaster or another story breaks and then the cameras, news vans, reporters, corporate non-profits, and government employees will move on to another community because this is not their home. When that day comes that they need to leave and when what has happened here fades into their distant memories, it will still be a DAILY reality for us. It will be then that the hardest hit in our communities will need us as a church body more than ever.
As a result, we are trying to put things in place so we can meet needs together when the infrastructure we currently have been blessed with has to go somewhere else. We are making contact with other churches throughout the country that have endured natural disasters in the past to receive wisdom and council at how best to have the maximum impact for the Glory of God. Finding out what they did, how they served, how they coordinated with county and state agencies, etc... and if you have ideas, thoughts, input, or know of specific families that have massive needs, don't hesitate to pass them along to us through the church office... if we don't know about your ideas or contacts, we can't help and we can't function at our most effective!!
As I have been reflecting on this past week, I have been reminded of Noah. A man who obediently built a cruise ship in the middle of a desert planning on a flood to come, and when it did start to rain I began to wonder... how many individuals outside of the ark began to look to heaven and "wonder" about God? I believe now is a time like no other where thousands are looking up to heaven and they are "wondering" about God... to this very point the Apostle Paul reminds us...
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13-15)
LORD JESUS... WOULD YOU GIVE US BEAUTIFUL FEET AT A TIME LIKE THIS, SO THAT YOUR NAME WOULD BE LIFTED HIGH!
To update many who have asked about damage sustained at the church buildings on Legion Drive as a result of the storm...
- Last Sunday @ 4:00 pm: We had between 2-5 inches of standing water in the basement of the church building and somewhere around 12 inches in the office basement... I know these are minimal amounts of water in relation to others, but it still was an issue that needed to be addressed as soon as possible.
- Last Sunday @ 6:00 pm: Within 2 hours there were 5 electric sump pumps running because of God's grace that allowed the power to still be on in Cobleskill, and one gas powered 150 gallon per minute pump sending water out into the swamp behind the buildings.
- Last Monday @ 9:00 am: ALL of the standing water in both buildings was gone and the vacuuming began
- Last Monday @ 4:00 pm: On Sunday evening we had put the call out for anyone available to show up and assist in the "SHOP VAC" project at the church buildings either in the morning @ 10:00 am or the evening @ 5:00 pm... The turnout during the day was incredible. Individuals brought shop vacs, carpet cleaners, one family even brought their little 1.5 gallon vacuum and were on their hands and knees sucking the carpet dry. The incredible thing is that the evening shift wasn't even needed because the church basement carpets were completely vacuumed at least twice before 4:00 pm as a result of the turnout to accomplish the task. All that was left was to set up fans to begin to dry up wet floors and walls.
- There was even one couple, Arvid & Carol, that helped lead the charge at the church building on Monday, when they hadn't yet been able to cross any bridges to even make it to their own home on main street in Schoharie to see what was left... they were serving in the midst of not knowing what was left... what an example of Christ I saw in them!!
To make a long story short, by the grace of God, and the willingness of so many, no significant damage was sustained!! Just don't have your babies crawling all over the carpet just yet, its still drying out!!!
