By K. Ray McDowell

 

Psalm 121:1-2

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

One of Harvey’s humbling lessons is just how “needy” I am. The common notion is that a man my age should “have it all together”. Till Harvey I thought I pretty much did. In the last several months I have learned otherwise. I also learned that the One who created us will take care of us. The greater the need the greater His help.

His help was immediate in the way that His calming presence kept me and my family through the long night of endless rain till rescue came the next morning. It was Him there with us as we worked together and lovingly supported each other.

His help came when perfect strangers gave themselves to rescue efforts that provided us a way out of our flooded home to safety. And it was His help when a family we only casually knew then liberated us from under the bridge at I-10 and MLK, opened their home and loaned us their car.

It was Him who brought folks from New York that we had never met to help us muck out our home. And it has been Him who has sent all kinds of help so that slowly but surely, we can get back on our feet.

This story has been repeated hundreds of times across Orange county. God’s help has shown up as family has helped family, as neighbor has helped neighbor, and as folks from across the country make their way to our area to bring supplies or lend a hand.

His help came to me personally in a way I will not soon forget. At a food distribution at our church soon after the Hurricane I met a precious little lady from our community. I   asked her if she had flooded. She said no but she came to get food for her neighbors and her pastor. You could see the grief on her face when she shared how her pastor lost everything. When I told her that I would be praying for him and that I understood because our family had experienced the same…she moaned – grabbed my hand, kissed it and held it tight to her face as she cried for me and family.

How does His help come? Through us mostly. Through each other. Through family, friends, neighbors and even strangers. Through long days of reconstruction or sharing supplies or simply offering a hug…or a gentle kiss on the hand.

K. Ray McDowell is the Lead Pastor of First Church of the Nazarene in Orange Texas. To learn more about OFCN go to www.ofcnazarene.org.