Matthew and the shed

As we stepped carefully over branches and debris to reach the lopsided shed, a shaggy dog slowly circled around us.  Cautiously, Matthew shuffled out from underneath the twisted metal roof of his shed.  He eyed us with a bit of suspicion, then saw Pastor Darrell at our side and broke out in a smile.  ?Pastor!?  and then waved us on over.

When the tornado struck, Matthew was inside his house near the lake.  In a moment, the force of the winds lifted his home from the foundation with him inside, sucked his clothes off and left him under a pile of rubble in the neighbor?s back yard.  Friends found him hours later, lifted remains of the house to free him and discovered Matthew dazed, but alive.

Matthew lives a quiet life as a bit of a hermit, not socializing much with neighbors, not eager to have strangers on his property and scraping by daily to survive.  After the storm hit, the church up the hill sent volunteers to carry away debris, search for buried personal treasures and listen to Matthew?s stories.  Chainsaw volunteers came and cut through piles of tree limbs.  Hope Force Chaplains came to listen.

Matthew says he is blessed.  He says he doesn?t need a thing.  He points to the sky.  ?He was watching me!?.  Life ahead will surely be rocky for him, but He?s tasted a bit of the goodness of God.