Thursday, October 3, 2024

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)


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