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Flood of Love
Extending Grace to a Family of Nine
By Steve Karlson
Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, it’s something we often overlook or take for granted. For many Americans, thanksgiving is something they take one day in November to reflect on how God has blessed their lives.
What am I thankful for this year? Many of the same things I’m always thankful for: being married to a wonderful wife, having four great kids, and working somewhere where I feel I can make a difference in the world. But this year, I’m also thankful for something else, a natural disaster. Yes, you did read that correctly. Over the course of the past couple months, I have become very thankful to God for the incredible experience I’ve had helping the flood victims down in Rushford, MN.
While volunteering one weekend in Rushford, I spotted a small yellow sign outside Montini Hall, the local Catholic community center, which at the time was feeding thousands of hungry flood victims and volunteers. On the sign was this Bible passage:
For God knows the plans he has for you,
Plans for good and not disaster,
To give you a hope and a future
Jeremiah 29:11
Ironically, this sign stood among piles of mud and destroyed homes, and seemed totally out of place. At first you couldn’t help but ask, ‘How does someone who has just lost their home take any comfort from reading this sign? What peace does reading this sign bring to the young mother who has just thrown everything her family owned into the street, so it can be hauled away to the landfill?’ Amazingly however, for the people of Rushford this simple Bible verse made perfect sense. And as I visited Rushford on subsequent weekends, it began to make sense to me also. As I walked the streets of Rushford and talked with flood victims, I was struck by the strong faith they had, and the belief that God was there with them, and more importantly, had a clear plan for them. You didn’t need to look far to see evidence of God’s helping hand. Inside Montini Hall, Rushford was experiencing its own ‘loaves and fishes’ story, as thousands of people were being fed daily with food that simply appeared when needed. Or up at the TRW factory building, where literally mountains of clothes, cleaning supplies, and other flood relief items, were piled high.
Throughout Rushford, dozens of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, easily identified by their bright yellow shirts, worked tirelessly gutting homes and providing spiritual support to flood victims. And then there were the Billy Graham Ministries volunteers, who would simply walk up to a flooded home as the home was being cleaned, and simply ask the owners if they could pray for them.
In the weeks that my wife and I worked in Rushford, I have never felt the presence of God so closely, or seen his hand so vividly at work. All in the midst of destruction and devastation. Witnessing all these small miracles in Rushford has made this experience one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life.
But God’s handi-work wasn’t restricted to just Rushford. When my wife and I learned of a flood relief effort called Flood of Love, we both immediately felt called to bring this program to Grace Lutheran. And oh did Grace respond! The donations that were quickly gathered for the Johnson family were incredible. But what many of you may not realize is what a difference your prayers made for this family. Shortly after we introduced you to this needy family, God heard your prayers and began to work miracles for them. FEMA changed their policies and offered the family more financial assistance, someone donated a minivan to them, and they were given a mortgage loan to purchase a new home in Rushford. With your prayers, all of these “gifts” happened in less than one week!
Through this whole experience, I find it amazing that from something that at first appeared as a terrible tragedy, in which nothing good or positive could possibly come from, did in fact turn out to be something entirely different. Over the course of the past couple months, I have come to realize what a blessing being a part of this natural disaster has been for me. That may sound strange, but when you have seen the love and caring that God can generate from people, that is something I will always thank God for the chance to witness this firsthand.
Loading the truck with supplies.
The Johnsons were absolutely thrilled when they received the truckload of items, over $2,000 of gift cards and Noisy Offering donations from our Grace family! Pure joy was written on all nine faces! I think God directed Grace to the right family who needed help the most! I saw firsthand how the prayers Grace offered for the Johnson family were answered by God. FEMA changed their policy, and families from the trailer park will receive the maximum amount of federal aid. Now the Johnson’s have a down payment for a house! In addition, Fillmore County will pay for clean up and removal of all the flood-destroyed trailers. These answered prayers have been heaven sent. —Steve Karlson
Outside Links
Emergency Food Shelf
Compassion International
Habitat for Humanity
Thrivent Builds
Feed My Starving Children
Operation Christmas Child
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