On October 3rd, I wrote an article, posted on BCN, about one family’s account of faith in the midst of great loss amid the devastation of Hurricane Helene. 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.”
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 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.”
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)