What Remains

SIFTING THROUGH THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE IAN 2022

What Remains

Ian made landfall on September 28th 2022 as a category 4 Hurricane and the aftermath in several south Florida towns was devestaing.

After crossing the Caribbean and the western tip of Cuba, Hurricane Ian made landfall at Cayo Costa near Ft Myers with 150+ mph winds and intense rainfall and storm surge that washed many homes off their foundations and vehicles from their parking spaces. 2 million residents across more than 12 Florida counties lost power and some directly in the storms path lost everything.

When faced with total devastation people have the tendency to reasses many things. They become acutely aware of what really matters.

In times of great peril people begin to prioritize their relationships with family and friends and the material things, while definitely a loss, mean less when you know you and your loved ones are safe.

This storm caused a lot of damage. It changed the landscape of the coastline it, it has also since swelled inland rivers and lakes to cause flooding of personal property and make roads inaccessible.

People have lost mattresses, clothing, stored foods, and sheetrock, walls, roofs and much more will need to be fully replaced due to flood water levels that were well over 12 feet.

This Hurricane as with many storms in life has also threatened to impact and destroy one of our most precious commodities: HOPE.

DON'T LOSE HOPE serve others

Hope is a wonderful thing. It allows us to plan for a future despite the current circumstances. It gives us peace when anxiety and fear want to rule. Hope can be soothing and comforting.

When we begin to lose hope, it gets dark pretty fast. When we are thrust into a place that is solely focused on what we have lost or what has happened to us, hope is diminished.

Hope can be restored in only a few ways. It is not something tangible that can be quantified but it is a renewable resource if we know the steps to take. One of the truly great examples of this is when serving others begins to renew hope. Hope in humanity. Hope for the future. Hope in something greater than self.

You see this in action after an immense, shared tragedy like Hurricanes, mass shootings or even terrorist attacks. You see hope begin to return as people begin helping others. Lending a hand through the floodwaters, strangers hugging because all they have left is each other, or someone sharing their last sip of water in an already uncertain time. It really is a beautiful thing and it is something south Florida and other parts of our country and the world need right now.

There are plenty of ways that hope is being limited right now whether in war torn countries or in our violence ravaged cities and schools.

We need to make strides against these hope stealers and push towards one another in service and care for others who are in need.

One church in south Florida whom we have a relationship is doing what they can to serve and restore hope to a community in crisis.

Freedom Life Church headed up by our friends, Pastor Shane and Rachel Fraser, are all working long days and nights to restore hope and bring people a sense of peace and compassion in the wake of Hurricane Ian. From food distribution to cleaning out garages, first floors, and replacing and repairing items as they go, Freedom Life Church is restoring what was taken in meaningful and loving ways.

This will take more than a couple of weeks to clean up and get back to a sense of normalcy. Many homes are a total loss, and much more has been swept away with the receding storm waters.

What remains are tough Floridians who are doing what they can to help their neighbors and share this moment together. Faith, Hope and Love remain in Florida and in the hearts of so many. I am inspired to so many working together to maintain and restore what the storm tried to take.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO GIVE DIRECTLY TO THE HURRICANE RELIEF FUND FREEDOM LIFE CHURCH — NAPLES, FL

https://myfreedomlifechurch.churchcenter.com/giving