Getting Close to Home . . .

The last two weeks were really stressful, waiting to find out what was ahead for me, health-wise . . . with the possibility that I might have cancer again. I’m still rejoicing in the good news I received that I’m okay. 

But now, my heart breaks for all those affected by the recent hurricane Helene. And, I’m wondering if relatives are okay . . . for this one hit close to home.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing on television. Who would ever think a hurricane making landfall in Florida could cause so much damage in the mountains of North Carolina?

Beautiful Asheville and the surrounding areas . . . so much damage there, so much need on the part of those who survived.  At this point the death toll is still rising. The last count, over several states: 200.

I grew up in Morganton, North Carolina, about fifty or sixty miles from Asheville.  I have family there, in that area.  Two of my best buddies in college grew up in Asheville; the father of one worked at the famed Biltmore Estate.

It makes a difference when it hits close to home . . . You hurt more for them, the pain is more intense, your prayers for them accelerate.

A well-known author once said, “You can’t go home again.” That’s the title of Thomas Wolfe’s last novel, published in 1940 after the author’s death in 1938. Wolfe (a North Carolinian, by the way) was born in Asheville, one of the places hit so hard by the current storm. In reference to his words, even though we can’t “go home again,” I believe there’s a part of your heart that will always be there.

Let’s hold all those affected by this terrible storm in our prayers.

Grace and peace to you,

Mary Emma