I’ve never seen anything like Hurricane Helene in my life. I don’t think we can overstate the damage here—the town of Chimney Rock was apparently wiped off the map, much of the mountains have been cut off from the outside world entirely, and tornadoes wreaked havoc from Blowing Rock to Rocky Mount. And while the west has borne the brunt of the flood impacts so far, water flows downhill. Most of us will feel some impact from this storm.
It’s hard to even process this level of destruction, frankly. It will be days or maybe weeks before we know the full extent.
But you know something? The words of the North Carolina State Toast call us a land “where friends are true and cold hearts rare.” And times like these are when we prove that about ourselves. We are a big, big state (believe me, I know—I’ve been bouncing from one end of it to the other nearly every weekend for over a year), and when one part of us is in trouble, the rest of the state will always be there to lend a hand. That’s what neighbors do.
John, I hope you’ll join me in praying for everyone who has been affected by Helene, and especially the West. This will be a long and painful recovery, but now is the time for each of us to dig deep and help our neighbors out.
And I hope you’ll join me in supporting relief efforts on the ground. I’m keeping an eye out for ways to help and will be sure to send them your way as I see them, but for the time being, if you’re safe and can do so, I hope you’ll consider making a donation to the American Red Cross’ hurricane relief fund today.
And if you’ve been impacted by the disaster, please look after yourself and your loved ones and please, please stay safe. FEMA and DPS will have resources available in the coming days to get help.
May God bless and protect those in harm’s way and keep us safe in His arms.
