READY...For The Storm.

It's the moment of nightfall...it is completely dark now. It's quite windy...gusts blowing the few leaves left around here and there. It is also raining and combined with the wind...the rain is coming down horizontally stinging one in the eyes and the face.Temps are in the high 40's F and dropping...yep, a nasty night for all concerned.


In a half hour I'll venture out to church for a couple of hours but otherwise, I'm hunkered down at my desk, snug as a bug in a rug as it were. I start to think about those who have spent nights like this outside...and I am grateful to be in, to have a home and to be safe.


Tonight...right now, this very minute, many are not...they are not IN...they are not HOME and most definitely those folks are not SAFE...not safe at all.


One of the coolest discoveries I made when I started to attend church at Lockwood Community Church was that they participated in BIHN (Branch Interfaith Hospitality Network) and their program to shelter homeless families (typically single Moms and their children) while they get back on their feet.


Basically every week, a local Coldwater, MI area church hosts several families for a week. They live at the church, sleep there at night and take meals there...everything they need is all provided. The church also provides volunteers to help with chaperoning, meals and transportation. During the day, the children attend school and the adults work or look for work.


It is absolutely a fantastic and wonderfully simple way of helping those with an immediate NEED...in a big way. I feel good that I attend a church that has many people actively involved in such projects and programs. It just feels good to see people...regular everyday folks reaching out to help others...not for TV cameras or publicity but because these people need help right now...they need a home and for a week at a time it is provided. The deal is they follow some basic rules...perhaps they listen to people share their story about how the Lord has worked in their life...and that's it.


So on this blustery, cold, wet evening, the nasty weather reminded me how warm peoples hearts can really be...even at a difficult time like this where things are not so good for our economy and for us as a country but the people...well we can help each other without big government beaurocracy getting involved...costing taxpayers a fortune!


Well...I need to button up and pull a hat over my head and roll...I'm heading out into the strom as it were. Thanks to GOD, I'm ready for the storm....Are you?