Finding the Strength to Move Forward

Hurricanes are traumatic. The wind, the rain, the flooding. As hard as it is to go through a category 4 hurricane like Ian, the aftermath is often traumatizing too. The damage, the questions, the decisions, the paperwork, the deadlines.

Miss Bonnie* couldn't figure out the best thing to do after the storm. She never expected to go through something like this on her own, and she didn't know the right way to deal with a house that had flooded. So for about four months Miss Bonnie did nothing. Then suddenly she found herself facing some deadlines. Planning to demolish her home because of concerns about mold and long-term issues, Miss Bonnie found that she could save a substantial amount of money by having it torn down right away before the FEMA deadline for debris removal ended. She wasn't comfortable with this timeframe: she wouldn't have time to go through her possessions, salvage any of her antique furniture, or come to terms with the decision. But there was a deadline and she didn't know what else to do.

Fortunately, in the middle of making this decision she accepted an invite to attend a new bible study that was starting at the community center in the neighborhood. It was being led by a homeowner whose house flooded, and a local church member who has been coming in to help. Miss Bonnie sat in the circle with several other women from the community and listened as they were discussing how overwhelming the decisions felt. It was a mixed group with some strong Christian believers, some who had walked away from their faith, and others who had never believed. They talked about the fight, flight or freeze instinct, something Miss Bonnie have never heard about. In this circle of women she heard some of what she had been feeling being shared out loud by other women who were all recovering from the storm. She realized those four months of indecision were actually her freezing in the face of trauma. Miss Bonnie also heard her neighbor share how ReachGlobal Crisis Response had come into the area with experience, insight and offers to help.

The next day our staff went to speak with Miss Bonnie about her house and the urgency of the decision she was making. But Miss Bonnie started the conversation off differently than expected. "Thank you so much for inviting me to that Bible study and for the women that were speaking into my life!" She told our staff that she wasn't comfortable with the decision to have the house torn down right away, but kept repeating how much it meant that she heard from other women. Ultimately Miss Bonnie has decided that she will tear down her home, but not on the schedule that was such a burden to her. The decision not to move forward with the option she felt pushed into actually feels like progress to her, because now she feels as though she has direction. Our ministry and volunteer teams will now be able to come alongside her, to help her process and grieve as she salvages some of her possessions and furniture.

We are also praying that Miss Bonnie will keep coming to the Bible study and will find her hope in the God we serve rather than the people who serve. The Bible study is reaching others in the group too. While it is a trauma-focused curriculum, the discussion ranges from emotional to practical to theological. Just last week Miss Minnie* asked why some of the women referred to the Bible as the word of God. The leaders were able to explain that even though men wrote the words, we believe all scripture is the inspired word of God. Pray for more good conversations like this one as Miss Minnie, Miss Bonnie, and the other ladies grow in their understand of God and the Bible and heal together.

*Names changed for privacy