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It is no coincidence that Jeff and I lived in Gerton when Hurricane Helene landed.

We were meant to be here.

When I first moved to Asheville a dozen years ago, it was for two reasons. First, God told me to, during a three-day whirlwind visit with a friend about twenty years ago. Second, was to do a residency in a hospital about 45 minutes south of the city. A year of Clinical Pastoral Education was a requirement for completing seminary, and getting my Master’s of Divinity degree.

The route fr…

My mother sent me a notification of my brother Bryce’s memorial, which is being held next week near Washington, DC. A square image, with his name, birth and death dates; his picture; and the date, time, and location of his memorial. A calming blue font holds the information together in a sorrowful, yet appropriate way.

I notice immediately that his last name is misspelled. “Churchwood” instead of “Churchman.”

This is the third of her three sons that she’s organized a memorial for in the past t…

My personality is not apocalyptic.

I don’t “worst-case-scenario” my way through life. Nor am I a glass-half-full kind of person. In fact, I generally assume things will work out for me, even during times when that seems physically or logistically impossible.

For the most part, things always do work out for me. Especially when my ego and I get out of the way. Especially when my focus is on saying YES to how God is leading me.

This is not normal behavior in our world.

But neither is “prepping,…

Love is what is required to get through this.

Apocalyptic Love is not passive, neither is it always patient or kind. Sometimes it is a fierce warrior in battle. Or a loud voice, raging. It is a mother bird, protecting her nest.

This Love is giving voice to every person who has lost their home and is being denied coverage by their insurance companies.

This Love is a funeral procession for a person whose body is still missing.

This Love is questioning our President, who did not enact his Execu…

There are five “camps” of people who have revealed themselves during this Apocalypse.

I call them Evacuees, Helpers, Preppers, Looters, and Homesteaders. These categories can really apply to any horrendous situation, whether that be in the confines of a family, or a natural disaster.

It takes all kinds of people to make a community. There is no judgment in my evaluation of how people have chosen to respond. It is completely understandable that people do what they need to, to take care of thems…

I’ve been craving normal - a normal routine, a normal schedule, a normal reality.

Which isn’t really possible, right now, but sometimes I can find moments of normalcy.

There’s a walk/hike I normally do every day in our neighborhood, using a combination of gravel roads and paths through our 85-acre HOA. It’s a walk because I stroll leisurely, but also a hike, because there’s about a 600-foot elevation gain.

The dogs and I haven’t done this walk/hike since before the hurricane. Initially, all o…

About a week after the hurricane I started to get weird prepper ads showing up in my Facebook feed occasionally. Now they are constant.

Every fourth post is an ad for a portable shower, toilet, or generator. There are ads for water filtration systems, walkie-talkies, life-saving medicines, and backpacks full of food and supplies to last anywhere from a week to a month.

Then there are more morbid ads, for gas masks, pepper spray projectile guns, and disaster survival books.

Every four posts I …

Last night was the Concert for Carolina, which took place in Charlotte, NC, and was also streamed live.

82,193 people were in attendance. The concert raised $24.5 million for North and South Carolina.

All proceeds will be split between nonprofits supported by musicians Luke Combs and Eric Church, including the Chief Cares Fund, Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, and Eblen Charities.

Eric Church also pledged to build 100 new homes for disp…

It’s been 30 days since Hurricane Helene devastated our community, and two weeks since my brother died.

Grief is stretching me. So is gratitude.

The hurricane devastation is now being considered a geological event, due to nearly 2,000 landslides, and entire towns being wiped out.

Hurricane Helene =

• 1,893 LANDSLIDES
• Damaged:
  • 126,000 homes
  • 1,000 bridges and culverts
  • 6,000 miles of road
  • 160 water and sewage systems
• $53 billion in damages in NC
• pbs.org/USGS
  

Helene also upended …

Last night, I dreamt that tall trees with no branches kept falling on our roof.

Eventually I realized that the trees were instead poles for power lines. Helicopters were carrying them over our house, and dropping them on our roof.

In my dream, there were a few trees that remained standing in our yard. They each had huge gashes in them, where water had stolen their wood. The gashes were so deep, it seemed like the trees would topple over should the wind pick up.

Then the scene shifts, and Jef…