Incredible, Beautiful, Miraculous Update on the Story of the North Carolina Mom Who Lost Her Son

 "...I woke up this morning and the title came, then the words and then the painting ... And I'm sure God has His reasons. I hope it reaches exactly who He intended it to..." -Elizabeth Londen

On October 3rd, I wrote an article, posted on Breaking Christian News, about one family's account of faith in the midst of great loss amid the devastation of Hurricane Helene. (Screengrab image: via Fox Weather)

You can read that article HERE, but to refresh your memory, Meghan Drye, along with her 7-year-old son and her parents on Friday, September 27th, had been clinging to the roof of their house in North Carolina, as flood waters from Helene rose.

As they hoped for rescue, the house eventually gave way, plunging the four of them into the raging river, along with their dog.

Meghan spent some 5 hours in the water, but was finally rescued. Much later, the bodies of her mother and father, and her precious son Micah were recovered.

Meghan described in an interview those final glimpses of Micah and how his faith helped her carry on, "I'm so proud of my son because in those last moments he wasn't screaming for me, he was screaming, 'Jesus, Jesus save me. Jesus I hear You, Jesus I'm calling upon You,'" she recalled.

"Everything he wanted to be was a superhero. That was his goal in life, and in a sense he's my hero. Because he reached for something past flesh, past human, past anything that I think even grown adults would reach for, and he called out to the One God Almighty. And I think in that moment he was rescued, and he became my hero ... he was screaming for Jesus, and I think in that moment he found joy."

But now there is much more to this story, and it's absolutely beautiful.

Elizabeth Londen is a Believer and an artist. She describes herself on Facebook as a, "Daughter of The King, Christian artist, muralist, wife and mother." (Screengrab image: via Facebook video)

She had NOT heard about Meghan Drye's loss, however, on Saturday, September 28th, Elizabeth says she woke up crying, because she had a "title on my heart."

The title was: "Can You Tell My Mommy I'm Safe Now?"

According to Elizabeth, she woke up crying, and was crying throughout the morning, as she began writing stanzas to a poem. She notes that she is "not a poet," and that it really sounded like something a child would say.

This is how Elizabeth described what she wrote and painted that day, and then posted on Facebook (View the post with the painting and poem HERE):

"This is my newest painting. I'm fairly certain I cried at least 11 times while creating it and writing those words. It's different than my normal... but I woke up this morning and the title came, then the words and then the painting. Everything else went on pause. And I'm sure God has His reasons. I hope it reaches exactly who He intended it to. And I pray that whoever it reaches that it brings you hope and a reminder of Whom your child belongs to and is with." (Screengrab image: via Facebook)

Here is the poem Elizabeth Londen wrote:

"Can You Tell My Mommy I'm Safe Now?"

Tell her I don't hurt anymore!

Tell her I feel so great. Like a superhero who could do anything!

Do I have powers now??? 

Oh. Well that's okay.

Could you please tell her I left her my favorite blanket?

Felt like the hug I got from You, warm and safe... and I know she could use that too.

Will there be toy trucks in Heaven? 

Is my dog Bella up here too?! 

Can't wait to see my grandpa, and all the angels mommy said were watching over me, and waiting for me with You! 

DO YOU HEAR THAT?! I love to sing too! 

I used to sing a song about how You loved me.

I'm just so happy that You do!

So... Can You talk to people down there?

I won't be able to. 

Can you tell my mom You'll be there with her?

And she'll see me one day too. 

Soon after the poem and painting was posted on Facebook, Elizabeth was contacted by someone and told about a mom who had lost her son in the flood.

Elizabeth reached out to Jessica, Meghan Drye's sister who had been posting updates about their family and the tragedy, telling her that she thinks she just painted her nephew.

Says Elizabeth, "We got on the phone and all we could do was cry."

"Then she goes into the situation that was the exact dog's name (Bella) that God had led me to ... that dog was on the roof with him. The blanket ... the truck ... Then I talked to the mom ... she told me that was her son, and that she'd look at (the poem and painting) every single day, and she felt this peace ... that he was with Jesus."

Elizabeth has been asked by the Drye family to speak at Micah's funeral in Asheville, NC, and she is raising money to be able to do that, and to bring Meghan Drye the painting of Micah with Jesus.

On her update Facebook post, Elizabeth says:

God will find you in the valleys, in the cracks of devastation and in the deepest of oceans beneath the wreckage.

Do you know why?

Because He never left.

The God that is closer than our next breath, doesn't leave.

I'm resting in that truth today.

And through all the tears, all the stories and God moments—I'll repeat and preach these three words to myself and to all of you:

Soli. Deo. Gloria. (Glory to God alone)

[This article first appeared on Breaking Christian News]

NC Flooding: This Family's Account of Hope in the Midst of Tragedy Will Build Your Faith

 "We were on the roof, and I considered at that moment that we were at our 'safe point.' So I took a picture, because at that point I still had service ... I thought we were ok still, until the house broke apart, and everything started to collapse..." -Meghan Drye

(Asheville, NC) — [Breaking Christian News] Meghan Drye lost her 7-year-old son and parents in North Carolina's flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. (Screengrab image: via Jessica Drye Turner /Fox Weather)

A local Fox TV station spoke with her and her sister in a riveting interview that is both heartbreaking and yet uplifting as Meghan shares how her family's strong faith in the Lord is carrying her through this tragedy.

"My grief today is unfathomable, I feel broken but ... I think that all the chain of prayers that I have felt are the things that held me up, are the things that are holding me together right now," Meghan explained when asked how she was dealing with her grief. "If it was up to my humanly flesh I wouldn't be able to do it," she added.

Meghan then told the Fox hosts what happened, "We were on the roof, and I considered at that moment that we were at our 'safe point.' So I took a picture, because at that point I still had service ... I thought we were okay still, until the house broke apart, and everything started to collapse.

"In that moment I was terrified, but all I thought about was being a mom and keeping my son safe and reassuring him that this is how superheroes are made—we survive, and we keep going." (Screengrab image: via Fox Weather)

Meghan was joined in the interview by one of her two sisters, Heather Kephart, who spoke about the immense prayer network that was initiated as Meghan sent texts from the roof where they were holed-up, and her other sister Jessica Drye Turner posted updates on her Facebook page; until "things went dark" from Meghan.

"Our sister, Jessica went into 'action mode' and started calling on the only hope that we have: prayer. And that network came through like we have never seen, it's such a blessing to our family—all the people, all the responders, all around the world ... prayed for us and our family," recalled Heather.

"And I have to say ... I was stuck there in the water for a very long time," added Meghan, who was in the flooded river for 5 hours, "I was held down by roots and trees and in that moment—in the midst of the chaos, all I heard was God telling me to 'be still, and to stop fighting the water.' That was Him, but that was prayer that told me to ... let the water carry me to where I needed to be, to be rescued."

Then the Fox hosts asked Meghan about Micah, her 7-year-old son who perished in the flooding, along with her parents.

"I'm so proud of my son because in those last moments he wasn't screaming for me, he was screaming, 'Jesus, Jesus save me. Jesus I hear You, Jesus I'm calling upon You.' ... Everything he wanted to be was a superhero. That was his goal in life, and in a sense he's my hero. Because he reached for something past flesh, past human, past anything that I think even grown adults would reach for, and he called out to the One God Almighty. And I think in that moment he was rescued, and he became my hero ... he was the bravest, smartest, hopeful ... I couldn't have asked for a better son. He was so happy up to that moment when he was screaming for Jesus, and I think in that moment he found joy." (Screengrab image: via Fox Weather)

At that point in the interview one of the Fox hosts broke down weeping, as she too is a mother of a 7-year-old.

Heather, Meghan's sister began telling about their parents, and how they instilled faith in their children from the start:

"Since the time that we could talk, in our little southern accents, they taught us Bible verses. My dad had a big piece of cardboard, and for every Bible verse we memorized, he gave us a star. And those verses—to this day—are in our hearts and our minds. And I think they wouldn't want us to do anything else in this moment but to give honor and glory to Jesus Christ," said Heather.

"And one verse in particular, Micah 6:8," added Meghan, as she and her sister recited it together, "He has shown you o man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

The loss the three sisters share is deep, but deeper still is the love of the Lord, and the way He upholds His children through the tragedies of life.  

I encourage our readers to Click Here to watch this heart wrenching, but faith-filled interview, and to pray for this sweet family. 

(This article first appeared on Breaking Christian News)

Ruins

I wrote this for anyone who has been through or is going through pain, and/or despair in their life. The picture in my mind is a back alley, circa post WWIII... desolation.  And even amid this, there is a future and a hope in Jesus.

In the ruins and the rubble
of a life that's crashing down
At the edge of my vision 
I caught a fleeting glimpse
There You stood in clothes like mine
The murky dust-filled air 
clung to Your skin too,
the acid rain burned into both our scalps.
I turned to You and fear melted off of me
In Your eyes a strength absolute
without waiver
I suddenly knew You had always been there
To feel what I felt
to see what I saw
You smiled then and hope began to fill my heart.
No more steps alone
Now in cadence together 
You take me through
Not away, not around,
But through.

Gleaning Hope in Our Time

Across the board, no matter the generation, gender, financial or employment status, every single person needs it—without it, life becomes mere existence at best.

But, the person who possesses this can survive—even thrive—under the most inhumane or desolate conditions:

-Amid the stifling sickness of the concentration camp
-As a prisoner of war, enduring the pain, waiting for rescue
-As a patient, taking another round of poison-called-chemo into your veins to wipe out the cancer
-Or, a mother praying and believing for her wayward child to come home.

It’s not money, fame or a new drug; it’s not even friendship, although that can bring strength as well…

…It is HOPE.

Emily Dickinson wrote about it so eloquently:

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all…”

Though history reveals many other desperate times, every current generation likely feels the urgency for hope, as if there is no more need like the present. In every situation we find ourselves; in order to get out of bed each morning—we need hope.

The thing is, it’s there for the taking. Now, some may cite the old argument; are you an optimist or a pessimist—is the glass half full or half empty?

But I believe gaining and retaining hope is much more than just your personality or temperament. We can choose to fill our hearts and minds with what brings hope, or with what is devoid of it. Let’s face it, there’s plenty out there that is devoid of hope. And, because those downer things, attitudes and influences are all around us, we need to actively choose to input that which fosters hope. Or else, it’s all too easy to become discouraged.

But, from where do we get hope? What is its origin?

The origin of hope is GOD. Romans 15:13 says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Italics mine)

Okay, so God is the Author of hope, but how do we acquire it?

The answer is found in Jesus.

Colossians 1:27 tells us that Christ in us is the “hope of glory.” In fact, it is the “hope [that] does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us,” according to Romans chapter 5.

There are three main ways that I gather up hope from the Lord, and I’ve found them to be pretty sure. One is through reading the Word—the Bible. A verse I love, found in Psalm 119, depicts the scenario well: “the entrance of Your Words gives light…” (Psalm 119:130) As if you’re journeying through the darkest caves where you cannot see your next step, and you speak a verse from the Bible; suddenly there’s a little light reflecting off the cavern walls—the more you speak from the Word, the brighter it becomes. And, for me, light and hope are often intertwined.

Another great way to “gather up hope from the Lord” is through music. Singing to God, and singing or playing the songs He gives you; sometimes even singing out what He is speaking to you or someone else, can be so heartening.

I really believe something very special happens between us and the Lord when we are caught up in worshiping Him—it’s a communication and interaction of another level. And it changes us.

Worship changes our attitude, heart, mind and mood. …It fosters hope in us; that hope that “does not disappoint” because it’s Christ in us, the “hope of glory.”

And the third way to bring hope to yourself, is to bring it to others. Jesus told His followers in Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you…” And we know He says elsewhere that whatever we sow, we will also reap. If we then sow hope and encouragement in others, we will reap the same.

It only takes a quick glance around your town to see that the enemy of our souls is working overtime to bring people down. Starting this year, let’s be the ones to counter that—to bring the light of God’s Word; the music of Heaven; and the heart to touch another with His love.

Gather up a little hope from the Lord today.

“Out of the browns and grays, from between the long lines of wet-falling...emerged...color.

And from behind the blank wall of waiting for warmth in my mind...there came...
hope.

Creeping in like a shy guest to a room full of strangers, it stayed in the corner for a while.

But as the pastels of spring grew brighter, the flicker kindled yet more and more.

Tentative, so delicate, but blooming nonetheless...”