The Only Way Out is Through

Photo by John Middelkoop

Have you been as glued to post Hurricane Helene news like I have as pictures and videos surface from areas impacted in the big bend in Florida and western North Carolina?

​My parents live on an old family farm in Shady Grove, Florida in Taylor County where three major hurricanes have come ashore in less than thirteen months. To understand the enormity of this is to also know a hurricane has not come directly ashore in Taylor County since 1935. This recent quiver of storms have left communities around them (and their own) devastated. Rest assured, this is no temporary power outage. Hurricane Helene buried and obliterated entire coastal communities. 

​Further north in western North Carolina, we are witnessing real time damage due to flooding with landslides on a level that we've not witnessed in my lifetime. Roads, bridges, houses, cars, 18-wheelers are all being washed away as the river banks overflow into downtown areas of those beloved and quaint mountain towns we all love. Black bears are hiding up high in the tree line and horses are swimming for their very lives. Photos and videos from that region are limited due to a total lack of cell or internet service. Entire communities are being displaced and devastated. Thriving businesses are being ruined. Homes and family heirlooms have been lost for good. Overnight, our favorite North Carolina mountain refuges have been filled with displaced muddy mountain refugees.

This is no nightmare that can be cured by simply opening our eyes.  Our neighbors to the west and north are living a nightmare with their eyes wide open and they need help digging out from the mud and splinters of former structures that now litter their rivers and streams. There is no easy way out of this mess. 

When we are faced with a storm that feels like it will erode the coast lines or river banks of our lives, it is normal and natural to want an easier and less painful way. If you find yourself in this latest storm or one that is threatening the status quo in your world, take heart. There may not be a shortcut to abbreviate or avoid the pain but you are not alone. 

A rabbi on social media reminded me this morning, "The only way out is through." A friend of mine, Keith Case has been preaching his way through Exodus and I've been tracking along. Big takeaway? There is no bypassing pain. 

I sent Keith this message earlier today;

"I was thinking about Moses...he didn't go around that Red Sea. He had to go through it. 

I was thinking about Jesus...he didn't go around Samaria. He went right through it. 

​I was thinking about me. I did not go around that hard thing last year. I went right through.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abendigo. Same thing!" 

Keith's response was as I'd expect;

"The journey is from the darkness of slavery to life in the desert where our coping mechanisms get exposed. If you want to get close to your kids (or people in general) you have to learn to get close to your pain. How do we know this to be a reality? We see it modeled in the life of Jesus. He gets close to ours and invites us to get close to his." 

Jesus names his resistance to the hard path of the cross (Matt. 26).   

"Going a little ahead, Jesus fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do YOU want?”

A little while later Jesus declares, "Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”

Jesus reveals the seductive nature of bypassing pain. And since we all know the rest of his story, we can find even greater solidarity in our temptation to take the beltway around our pain. 

Jesus invites us to take the hard path. Through. Not around. Jesus does us a solid and he shoots us super straight. 

"In this world there will be trouble." 

How can we enter into our own pain and into the pain of others? 

• We can invite another person to know we are afraid.  
• We can be ruthlessly honest by naming our resistance. 
• We can be brave and take the first step. 
• We can be brave again and take the second step.
• We can breathe through it.
• ​We can listen through it. 
• We can take radical ownership of our own painful story.
• We can vulnerably admit when we are pain.
• We can show up.
• We can show up...again and again...and again. ​

What will it look like for you to roll up your sleeves and risk getting some of the pain of that western North Carolina mud on you?

​Take courage. Be brave. You are not alone. 

ACTION & PRAYERS: 
Elbow Tree is preparing to send a small advanced team to storm impacted areas with an expressed intent to offer care to first responders and caregivers in the surrounding communities. Stay tuned!