I was at my son’s baseball game at Blackman High School and one of the parents of the team was talking about his house being flooded, A week later, it still had water in it and they were still unable to get in it. My in-laws home had also been flooded and they were at the game and they gave them helpful information re: FEMA and other organizations that could assist them with the clean up.
Then later that week I talked to him again and after two weeks they were able to start working on the clean up. I had asked the mom’s son (who is on the baseball team and has been a part of LifePoint Student Ministry) if they had anyone helping them. He said his mom, step-dad, himself and another couple who were friends helping them. That night I called my neighbor Dan, who is part of our Small Group, to see if he could go with me to help the next morning. He said yes. Another guy in our small group, Jamie, said he could go for a while until he needed to go to another flood clean-up at his daughters softball field. He called back that morning and said his wife said they needed his brawn at the softball field. To be honest my first thought was, “What’s more important, a home or a softball field?” I realized though that it’s both. It’s all ministry: whether at church, home, work, or sports field. It is about Invest-2-Invite. Jamie was where he needed to be and where his wife and daughter needed him to be. Shame on me for my first thought.
I called another of our small group men ,Alex. Then I remembered that he works on Saturdays, but his wife said his oldest son, Chase, would go with us. God provides. I had called to see if my brother, John would want to go but he couldn’t. He called back later and said his oldest son, Hank, wanted to go. God provides.
So, Saturday morning we had four of us and a daddy from the baseball team that had overheard us talking at the game. God provides. We worked a few hours before we had to leave and go to our seniors’ graduation festivities. We were able to bring food from our graduation party. God provides.
When I took the homeowners the food, they were hungry and ready to eat. I asked them what they were planning on doing the next day. He told me they were going to take out the sub flooring, which looked like ski moguls with no snow. I figured I would call after church to see if they might need some more help. I probably should have went and helped during church because all I did was sleep. All Pat talks about is love and sin; I’m kidding. He talks about sports, too.
After church, I called and asked how they were doing and if they had help. He said that they had about five people pulling insulation and floor up. But he said that one guy, who is a big fella, fell through the floor. His wife, who was helping, took him to the ER. He ended up with some hurt ribs. That left them with 2 less helpers. But God provides.
I called our small group men. Dan said he could help again. Jamie’s brawn wasn’t needed elsewhere, so he was available and ready to help also. Alex was ready and willing. My brother was also able to go, although his is not in our small group. These guys didn’t hesitate. They just went. God provides .
We gotter done. Sometimes (no, really all the time) I don’t like to call and ask people to do something that ain’t going to be fun but actually just messy. But I’m thankful for a group of men that put the needs of someone else above their own. God will provide. Sometimes we need to ask of others and also step up and act. Thanks again, Mr. Small Group Men Flood Help Clean-up Guys; Real American Heroes.

C. Mitchell