The Power of Showing Up

With our living situation more stable, and the initial remediation steps decided, it was time to really get to to work. When I say work, I mean MOUNTAINS of work. From where we stood, those mountains looked immovable. We simply didn't have a solution for all that needed to happen, and how to get it done.

Outside, we needed to dig and install a french drain around the perimeter of the house to try to solve the moisture intrusion issue happening under the house. Until we stopped moisture from getting in, we couldn't address the mold under the house. It would just keep coming back. Indoors, we needed to continue sorting through all of our contents and come up for a system of sorting, cleaning and storing salvageable items.

It was daunting.

One of the struggles with a sudden loss is that, in my experience at least, the person going through it can't fully wrap their heads around what they need. This was certainly true for us. Offers to help us in a general way were often met with blank stares and stammering as we struggled to even articulate what we needed. Most of the time, we simply had no clue how to put it into words or reasonable steps, especially those first few weeks. We needed help, but we couldn't express it coherently.

One of the men at our church approached us and said that a group had set aside a work day for the second weekend in August and offered to help with whatever work we had going on at our place. Eventually, that grew into a congregation-wide invitation to show up at our home.

And wow, did they show up!

Some of the women coordinated food, people brought canopy tents and tables, cleaning supplies and whatever else they could think of to be helpful. One sister watched my kids all day at her house. By the end of the day, the perimeter french drain had been dug, placed, and covered back over with dirt. Everything that could be quickly emptied from house was hauled out to a makeshift wash station set up in the backyard to be remediated with a special cleaning solution. The women washed, dried, and packed everything I decided to save. The boxes of things to be donated went with some friends, so I didn't even have to worry about dropping those things off.

We started the day overwhelmed about logistics and loss and stuff and the problems that had to be solved. We ended the day overwhelmed with love and gratitude. God used this day to strengthen our faith and, and to powerfully display the wisdom of the community God has designed the church to be.

In the past, I have wrestled with how to help someone in the midst of a crisis. How do you help when what you can do seems to be so little compared to the greatness of their need? Sometimes - often, actually - that has caused me to feel paralyzed, even to the point of doing nothing because the little I could do seemed insignificant. I'm here to tell you that no help in crisis is insignificant. When those around you choose to show up in whatever capacity they can, God works through each and every hand to move those mountains in your path. I've learned that no act of kindness is too small. A meal. A prayer. An hour here or there. A roll of garbage bags and a few extra boxes. A cup of water, or a case of water bottles. However, wherever, whenever you can - just show up in whatever capacity God has given you ability. Then step back and marvel at the way God can weave those efforts together to answer prayers.