Image by kenne
The following was written by a Gulf Coast resident and close friend, Kris Nordstrom McBride and originally appeared on Facebook.
I just have to share something (long) in the aftermath of Harvey.
Here in Texas, in our darkest hours, the people of this community, this state, this country and indeed around the world, have shown one another such kindness and generosity that it should renew our faith in our fellow man.
Recovery is an imperfect thing – there will be mistakes and missteps; sadness and frustration; devastating financial losses. And yes, there are bad people out there who will take advantage of the misfortune of others. But the VAST majority of people have opened their hearts and their homes to help others.
Friends and family have helped one another in unprecedented ways. Our churches, our ACTS and KC brothers and sisters, our Rotary Clubs, our Parrothead Clubs have all found ways, big and small, to help one another. Neighbors are checking on one another. Small business owners have gone the extra mile for their employees, reached into their pockets to cover motels and food costs for their displaced staff, often when they could really not afford it themselves. And of course, our First Responders (two of them Scott and Sabrina’s close, close friends and “my kids” too) and untold everyday people have put themselves in harm’s way to help others.
Most of you reading this know my friend Linda Johnson, my dear and special friend of more than 40 years. I stay with Linda when I work overnight in Houston. We drink a little wine and never run out of things to say to one another. A true and devoted friend.
Linda counts herself as one of the lucky ones. She “only” had a few feet of water in her home. She has two fabulous daughters and their families to stay with, a great employer who cares about her, and a huge circle of extended family and friends who love her dearly and will not let her be alone or in need.
BUT – she is still a single woman living alone, working toward her retirement in a few years, and like most of us, living on a budget and with no flood insurance. Walking into her home for the first time and seeing the destruction, the loss of family things, was…well…..just like for everyone else – horrible beyond words. Linda is a strong woman, but even for her, it was becoming overwhelming. How would she get this done? Where will the money come from? How does this happen?
Sunday she pulled up to her subdivision, found a high water vehicle to take her to her doorstep to begin the slow and painful process of wading through her home and trying to figure out where to start. Where do you start? How do you do this? Out of nowhere, “THEY” appeared and said, “what help do you need?” Tears streaming down her face she said “Everything” …..
Monday morning a group of about two dozen people met her at the house, complete strangers, and in SIX HOURS took her from destruction to on the road to recovery – these amazing people, again, complete strangers, worked in teams – one team packing her things, one pulling out carpet, one hauling things to the street, another cutting the sheet rock. IN SIX HOURS they changed her life!
During their short time together, they laughed with her and talked about her collection of beautiful wine glasses and nice wines, which made it through the flood intact.
Before she left for the day, she went upstairs to her office and the ladies who had packed her things had left 4 wine glasses, two bottles of wine and an opener on her desk – a small gesture that meant so much. They knew this would mean “home” and “normal” to her.
Linda is still in such a state of shock (as so many are) she doesn’t even know their full names, and will likely never see these folks again, but the impact they had on her life will never be forgotten. As best I can gather doing a little online research, these amazing people were from The Bayou City Fellowship Church and they have organized an unbelievable volunteer effort to help their community. Bless Them!
EVERYONE has done so much – I know this sort of amazing help is being repeated over and over all across Texas.
From the bottom of my heart to everyone who has served a meal, donated a piece of clothing or reached out to their fellow man in any way……..THANK YOU! And BLESS YOU!
As we say in ACTS —
God is Good, all the time.
All the time, God is Good.
— Kris Nordstrom McBride
