The Fiery Sunrise

The Fiery Souls of Western North Carolina

Last week I had the privilege of visiting Western North Carolina for work. I was tasked with meeting people from the area, visiting some of the counties most affected by Hurricane Helene last fall, and listening for their deepest needs. Listening is one of my favorite things to do in any line of work that I have had. And listening deeply without judgement or the urge to interrupt is a skill that some of us work hard to cultivate. But, through this experience, I was left speechless.

Over 100 people lost their lives due to the devastation left behind from Hurricane Helene. People in this area suffered from catastrophic flooding, landslides, and high winds that just uprooted thousands of huge trees, which toppled over homes and businesses throughout the area. I was visiting five months after the disaster, and when I traveled up the roads towards the Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties, the debris on the side of the roads was clear evidence of how this storm affected the people in this area.

It’s hard to describe what your eyes see when driving through this area. I wasn’t trying to participate in the “disaster tourism,” that often takes place, but it was hard to not stop and want to take pictures of the devastation because you want people to know how difficult this storm was for those who had lived through it. My heart was breaking for the thousands of people who went from feeling safe and secure in the mountains to seeing the very thing they loved the most become the most dangerous part of their lives.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the church in Minneapolis, North Carolina, we saw the signs of how the river had thundered through the community, pushing down trees like twigs, and decimating the soil all around it. A man told us the story of a family who lived across the street on the side of the mountain, next to the river. The father of the house was able to throw his son on the street and jump out of the house, but was not able to grab his wife, who was swept away in the house by the raging waters. All I could do was cry for her and for that family.

It’s hard to be creative in moments like these, when a disaster devastates your family, your home, and your community. Survivor’s guilt starts to make its way into our hearts and minds, even when we are hundreds of miles away from these places. If you're human, the thought that it could have been me, it could have been my family, it could have been my community runs through your head and you often wonder if you might be next.

However, humanity wasn’t designed to get stuck or stay stuck. We were designed to be creative. We were designed to be able to step up and rebuild because that is our nature. A woman whose face resembled someone who had seen many disasters and challenges in her lifetime stood at the side of the road with a “Stop/Slow” sign, assisting the community workers who were picking up debris and clearing the roads so that people could use them again. I didn’t know her story, but she exuded a kind of strength I may never know.

Her eyes, like thousands of others I saw in that area, had a faint, but visible light that sparkled with defiance! The people I met in these communities were not about to let this or any other disaster eliminate their hope. I could tell that there was a fieriness in their veins that was bursting through with the “git er’ done!” attitude. This is when creativity is at the most pure, raw, and electrifying position to change the world. This is when people begin to see the world through a different lens and notice the value of things that money can’t buy. They are often at the precipice of transformation and what they are shaping doesn’t have a name or a distinct, recognizable form yet, but it’s right there on the edge.

This picture of the sunrise I captured right before my day began is a perfect image of the red, yellow, and orange flames I saw in the hearts and souls of the people of Western North Carolina who may have been knocked down, but they weren’t letting this storm keep them down. They were ready, they were just warming up, and they were positioned to show the world that they are WNC STRONG!

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