Flooded

Flooded by Adam Hofer

August 2024

As the rain fell, I could see the water rise. After hours and days fighting the water, there were times when I felt hopeless as if my efforts were of no use because the water kept coming. However, after dealing with the water for a week, the crisis was over. All I feel now is gratitude for the help I received. Yet, when I was going through the crisis, I was flooded with emotions, and I was confronted with a simple truth: We all experience floods.

Recently, I brought a homeless man to the DMV to get an ID. Like so many others, this man would need an ID to be considered for employment, even at temp agencies. From our perspective, the solution is simple: Get an ID! However, this man had internal floods, thoughts and worries, building up in his mind. How am I to get to the DMV from the homeless shelter without transportation? If I get an ID, will someone steal it again? How am I to pay for the ID? Should I even try anymore? As I drove him the fifteen minutes to the DMV, I could not help but think how long it would have taken him on his own. When we walked into the DMV, we waited in a line. After getting our service number, he needed to fill out an ID application. As he looked at the application, I could tell he was getting frustrated, and yet again, he was flooded with emotion and was noticeably angry. I asked him what was wrong. He told me that he was unable to see the application because he lost his glasses. Yet again, another “flood.” And when I read off the questions, he was unable to think straight due to lack of sleep. We handled it together. Within 40 minutes, he spoke with a DMV worker and faced additional challenges. All that mattered was we left the DMV with an ID and found our way back to the homeless shelter. What took us an hour would have taken him half a day! Unfortunately, the ID was one of many hurdles for him to overcome to climb out of poverty, which often puts him in a state of hopelessness.

The waters of life keep coming! The reality is many in our community live with continual internal floods that make them wonder if the waters will ever stop rising. Maybe they experienced trauma as a youth and are continually flooded with thoughts of distrust. Maybe a felony charge left them in a state of fear for what the future may not bring. Maybe anxiety leaks into their mind and without ever being shown how to regulate their emotions in healthy ways, they are overwhelmed with it. The question to consider is this: Who or what do you cling to when floods come? Often if we aren’t careful, we cling to the unhealthy. However, my hope is that you cling to God knowing full well that this flood will pass and that there is more to look forward to than the floods behind us or are currently facing. Unexpected floods like a stolen ID or a water-infested basement are nothing compared to the peace that God can bring!

As we face our floods, cling to Him and reflect His love and kindness by helping others with their floods. I am thankful we have a God who walks alongside us through our floods. We are called to do likewise.

“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings” - Psalms 61:1-4