PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

August 30, 2023

SHARED STORIES

It has been a year since Diane and I had water in our lower level.  The high point was February 23, 2018, when we had eighteen inches.  We were out of our house for two weeks.  Even today there are a couple of things that need to be done.  Nothing of any real importance I still look for things in places that no longer exist.

Several of the things we had done as an outgrowth of the flood of 2018 helped us deal with the solar vortex of 2019.  Our three bedrooms and two of our bathrooms are above our garage.  Before the flood the temperature in the garage could get into the lower forties.  After the flood we had a heat exchanger installed in the garage.  During the vortex the exchanger helped to keep the temperature in the garage in the 50’s.  We also had a gas log installed in the family room in the lower level.  This also helped keep the lower level warm.

When I think back on the flood, what comes to mind is all the persons who stepped up to help.  There were close to forty persons who came to our assistance.  Local, state, and federal agencies were of great help.  The whole Plymouth community was supportive of all of us who suffered directly from the flood of 2018.

For those of us who were directly affected, for those who provided aide and assistance, or for those who witnessed the flood of 2018, it was a defining experience that bound all together in a shared story.  The flood will be added to the ongoing story of the Plymouth community which also includes the flood of 1954.  To be a part of the Plymouth community is to know its stories and its traditions.

When I was a pastor, one of the things that I tried to do when receiving new members was to share with them the stories of the church.  What were the important events of the past that helped to shape the church today?  As new members came to make the church’s stories their stories they experienced a greater bond with and commitment to the church.

The defining story for the Hebrew people in the Old Testament was the Exodus.  It is interesting to note that when the story is told the author says “when we” rather than “when they.  The Jewish people living in the present experience the Exodus which took place a long time ago as their story.  The Exodus was a collective story that helped to define the Hebrew people and was a reminder of God’s faithfulness from generation to generation.

The flood of 2018 was one of the defining events of the story of Plymouth, Indiana.  It is remembered as a time when all of the people came together to support and assist those who suffered from the flood waters.  It is a reminder of the essentially good and caring nature of the people of the town and that they will be here in the future when trouble comes.

This article was originally published March 3, 2019.