The Miracle of Hope

BY TINA V. BRYSON

The lights twinkled on Christmas Eve as the house filled with chatter and laughter of family from near and far gathered together after many years apart. The phone rang. Josh Ratliff answered. He had been a volunteer firefighter since he was 16 hanging out at the firehouse. Now, duty called, a severe car accident with multiple fatalities. He knew he had to go, to help where he could.

“The fire chief said, ‘We're going to need you for more than just a firefighter tonight, we’re going to need you,’” recalled Ratliff who serves as captain and chaplain of his fire department. He is also a married father of four and coordinator of Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Family Advocacy Program in Johnson, Martin, and Floyd Counties. “I prioritize my family first, then opportunities to meet spiritual needs, then my community, then my job,” Ratliff added.

At CAP, he finds ways to meet the needs of families struggling to keep the lights on, to help seniors who need personal hygiene products, or to provide essential items after a family has lost their home to fire or flood. From his first response, where he comforted a woman who later died, Ratliff has been drawn to the person who needs him the most at that moment.

He was 14 when he started teaching Sunday School, and two years later was serving as a youth minister in his local church. That same year, his church began partnering with CAP. The church provided clothes and CAP provided backpacks with supplies to help children in the community be prepared for the start of school.

Ratliff has done water rescues, found people lost in the woods, and helped people after floods. “I have experienced flooding,” he said. “I know what it’s like to feel grateful that someone is there to help in your time of crisis.”

In the recent historic floods and ice storm in Eastern Kentucky, Ratliff worked through Family Advocacy to get cleaning and hygiene products, as well as furniture, clothing, and household items to the community. A lot of people didn’t have generators so the fire department served as a warming station.

“It’s been a trying year, but I look on the bright side of things,” added Ratliff, who also pastors a church. “God places people in your life for a reason. It might be a short time, but those connections are so important. It helps you see that not every person struggles in the same way. It’s hard not to take these experiences home with you. I try to leave it at the door, but sometimes it eats at you. I remind myself that their hope is greater than their hurt. When I see that, it’s like a miracle.”

Ratliff has served in his role at CAP for five years. He understands how difficult it can be sometimes for people to ask for help, but his goal is to reach out to additional counties to meet needs and spread more hope.

In his early 20s, he gave up on ministry. During that time, a close friend died and he took it personally for not being a better example of how to live a life for God. “One night I heard the audible voice of God. He said, ‘Josh, I forgave you the first time you asked. Do what I called you to do. You are in my rest.’ That’s when I knew I had to find a way to serve, minister, and give people hope.”

Pictured left to right: Jessica (wife), Steven, Anthony, Sophia, Hannah, and Josh