After the Tornado
Sometimes I can be overwhelmed by a massive need, the kind that comes after record-breaking tornadoes destroy vast swaths of civilization. A lot of us felt like that Saturday.
But I saw something today about how God works that gives me encouragement to do SOMETHING, and let Him determine the scope and outcome of it. I hope this story gives you motivation for whatever you need to do.
My friend Penny Wade Smith owns Wade Farm Financial Services in Mayfield, right in the heart of town, on the corner of the block where the tornado destruction begins. Because her business was not damaged, but she’s right next to devastation, she wanted to do what she could for that neighborhood. She asked neighbors what they needed, and we showed up Monday with lots of water, fruit, diapers, baby wipes, granola bars and peanut butter crackers, basic toiletries. She just set tables in the yard and started giving stuff away. This was just she and I and her employees. But then her clients started coming by and dropping off donations. Penny asked a client to donate an outbuilding, and they did! A 14x44 foot building donated by Graceland Portable Buildings in Cunningham! She will put that on the back of the property and store supplies there.
Next, she decided we needed to cook a hot meal for these people who have no power or water. I have to admit my first thought was, “Oh, that sounds like a lot of trouble. Where do we get the equipment? and the food?” Then she decided to make it breakfast, and I thought, “Oh, dang, that will be early.” (You can see I’m not the jump-on-the-bandwagon type. I’m the cautious think-it-through type.) But in a matter of minutes, her employees had volunteered a propane griddle, supplies, labor, and food. I was astonished that breakfast got organized in 5 minutes.
Then Penny asked our ministers at church if they could bring another griddle and recruit volunteer labor, and within an hour, we had the second griddle, more food and supplies, tables and chairs, and at least 10 volunteers. It just kept growing. A former employee joined in and brought another grill and eggs. Somebody else donated large containers of coffee and Panera donated three coffee totes. By the time I got there this morning, there were pancakes, sausages, bacon, and eggs on the griddles, and an entire coffee bar set up.
As we fed people (and they came all morning, so glad for hot food) and took food out to housebound neighbors, people just kept dropping by to make donations. AMAZINGLY, the client who donated the building came by and told Penny his church, Bethlehem Baptist in Cunningham, will bring a mobile food “thingamajiggy” (her words : ) to serve meals 3x a week for the next 3 or 4 months. Reidland Church of Christ will coordinate with them to staff the supply building at the same time.
O me of little faith. It just looked like too much trouble to me to branch out from the table of supplies. I didn’t want to commit to cooking. But Penny jumped in with full faith. I told her this is the loaves and fishes. If you don’t know this story, it’s in all four gospels, which is remarkable in itself. In the story, Jesus needs to feed 5000 people and asks for donations of food, but all anyone has is 2 fish and some bread, and the disciples react with total cynicism that this could do ANY good at all.
BUT JESUS USES IT ANYWAY. I think that’s the key concept. Jesus takes what is offered and HE makes it stretch. We don’t have to do that part. We just offer our paltry 2 fish and 5 loaves. Just look what transpired in the last 24 hours that will have great effect for several months in bringing hope and love and warmth to this community. God brings “beauty from ashes” (Isaiah 61:3) and feeds 5000 from 5 loaves (Matthew 14:19-20). One person asked Penny where to make donations. She said she would take it, and he handed her $3. That was a paltry, precious fish, and Jesus will do great things with it.
