Shirley Leonard

Lessons from Flood Week

Shirley's Scene

    Floods come in many forms. Sometimes we're flooded by emotion or stress or frustration or fear. This historic flood taught me a few lessons of the spirit. Maybe some will hit you too.

    We tucked those adults in with baby blankets, feeling a bit silly, yet grateful for even these awkward bits of comfort. The Red Cross folks couldn't get to Millville because all the normal routes were under water. It was a week when everybody had to make adjustments.

    We had cots, but all the regular blankets must have been in the bigger towns. Arrangements had been made for the fire company to rescue these folks from flooded trailers or from the Vill age in Eyers Grove. Some were in wheelchairs, some on oxygen, and others were simply stranded.

    A high school cafeteria wasn't an ideal refuge, but it was better than nothing. It felt so good to bring any kind of relief: a soft pillow from home, a cool drink, a listening ear. But what I didn't expect was the refreshing my spirit received from them. Especially- Bill. He knew he couldn't get down onto a cot, because of a stroke and some other challenges. I had no idea what to do but Sue Myers knew that we had a hospital bed stored at Wesley House, and she called George who called Chris Ringer and they wrestled it down from the second floor. Bill was so grateful. He told me the next morning that he hadn't slept that well in years. Beyond that, he was thankful for every little thing and kept praising God for the kindness of strangers.

    And I was so grateful for our church family. Sue had called me and I'd called Greg & Sue & soon Brad & Julie & Leslie joined the adventure. One sweet guy told us that he'd survived the Nazis and the Communists, so this was no big deal to him.

    That was weeks ago. I saw Bill again last week, back in his own room in his apartment at the Village. I listened with fascination to his accounts of how Father God had been meeting his needs for so many decades.

    I'm sure that the grumbling voices during and after the flood have had plenty of reason to grumble. But what I remember is Bill's smile and his refusal to dwell on what he was missing. I wish you could have seen his grin as he said, "You gotta remember . . . Wherever you go, there you are."

    Thanks, Bill. You reminded me of truths I've known a long time, but I needed your refresher course.

    The day after the flood, an email came from our D.S., the Rev. Dr. Tom Salsgiver, who has become a dear friend as well as our beloved leader. He included this old favorite scripture, which held new power at that moment:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. (Isaiah 43: 1&2)

In His Love,

Millville/Greenwood Church Office: 570-458-4349
P. O. Box 470 (corner of State and Walnut Sts.)
Millville, PA 17846