Shining Light || A poem
Five days after Hurricane Helene ripped through our yard, my husband went to the store to buy more chainsaw oil and returned with tulip and daffodil bulbs. “An act of resistance in the face of destruction,” he announced. One of the many reasons why I married this man. Hope would still push up through the soil of our patch of earth. We would donate to organizations on the ground in WNC, reach out to neighbors, buy food to restock our local food panty, and pray for the devastation that followed the storm. All the while, we would hope. Hope for rescue, for miracles, for open doors to share about Jesus, for laughter, for redemption. As we sat in darkness without power for eight days, we would hope for light- physically and spiritually in our world. Interestingly, Helene means “shining light.” I resisted despair by marveling at all the tiny creatures and parts of creation that were not destroyed- how did the zinnia petals and...