One Bite at a Time by Rev. Zack Martin
One Bite at a Time
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.” Psalm 46:1-2
Our lay leader, David Burbach, and I recently traveled to Augusta to deliver supplies and help do some debris removal work. After unloading the supplies, we received our work order and met the homeowner whose house needed some help.
The house was a modest, older 80’s non-traditional design. I think maybe 40 years old. AS you may know, older neighborhoods have taller trees. This neighborhood was hit hard by Helene, and most of the old, tall trees were down.
Fortunately, the first responding arborists cleared the huge pine trees that hit the house. They only focused on the trees crushing the house. Removing trees and nailing a blue tarp was the priority. It might be able save the dwelling. Call it home repair triage (no-pun intended).
David and I made our way to the backyard and saw the rest of the hurricane’s damage. We stared up at fallen trees that were thrown to the ground. Let me say it again. We stared up at fallen trees. The old oaks, pines, and Leyland cypresses that once towered over the neighborhood now lay uprooted across fences, property lines, and backyard patios.
The broad span of limbs, now sideways on the ground, towered about 20-30 feet above our heads. The lower limbs were woven and tangled into almost a solid wall. Tree companies are charging $20,000 or more a day to remove debris. The older woman we were helping simply couldn’t afford it. Our work order was to dice up all the trees and move the debris to the road. How were we going to do this?
An old proverb came to mind, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The same is true about how we recover from disasters.
Our crew leader suited up and started sawing. David and I started hauling. Reinforcements showed up later to help. When we left, most of the back yard was visible. We were tired attacking those trees one bite at a time.
Hurricane Helene destroyed thousands of homes and communities from Florida to North Carolina. It’s overwhelming and it’s so close to our home. We help our neighbors by moving one limb at a time. We can help by building one cleaning kit at a time. We can help by donating one heater at a time. We can help one dollar at a time.
I hope we will continue helping over a long time. These trees and debris aren’t going anywhere soon. Vulnerable families in these communities are overwhelmed with the magnitude of the work. We can help people whose lives were blown apart by this disaster. In so many ways. Please read your newsletter carefully for the opportunities that arise. Check email and facebook for daily needs that pop up. We can do this…one bite at a time.
We’re planning another weekend trip to serve on Saturday October 26th in Augusta Area. We’ll leave at 6:30am and be back by 4:30pm. Contact zack@madisonfumc.com to get more information and to sign up. We can do this, with God’s help, one bite at a time.
