Oddbean

I’m sitting here, finally letting it all out tonight, after a week of holding it together. In less than 12 hours, I’ll be seeing my daughter, Lexi, for the first time since she packed up and headed out after high school graduation in June. Her little sister Lu and I moved up to Wisconsin for my job, while Lexi, full of life and fire, made her way to the Carolina mountains. I can still see her face, glowing with hope, faith, dreams, that fierce determination of hers. My girl believed in herself with everything she had. She was pure spirit, pure light, unbreakable. Until Helena broke her. And watching her spirit break shattered mine. But you know what saved her? It wasn’t the systems, the so-called authorities, or any damn government agency. It was the people. The strangers. The good-hearted souls who stepped up when no one else did. I had her at 19, so we’re no strangers to starting over. We’ve fought every day since the moment she took her first breath. We’re survivors, fighters, and we’ve never let life snuff out our light. No matter the storm, we’ve kept our faith; trusted the Holy Spirit to guide us. But this time, this storm, my girl wasn’t ready for the weight of it. She wasn’t ready for the sheer failure of it all. She watched as her home was torn apart by trees falling on it, watched the water rise, and had to make the heart-wrenching call to leave everything behind. She knew no one was coming for her, knew I couldn’t reach her, and she stood in that reality ALONE. But through all the destruction, the light broke through in the form of good people; people like YOU who stepped up to give my girl food, shelter, safety. For seven days, she didn’t see a single National Guard member, no FEMA, no military. Not a damn soul in charge showed up for her. And when she tried to apply for FEMA support? DENIED. This is not how it’s supposed to be. I’ve always been the rock in our little family of 3, the one who buries the pain so I can stay strong, provide, protect my girls, keep their faith alive, and carry it all so they can truly LIVE without fear or worry. But tonight, I’m letting it all process. It could’ve been so much worse for Lexi, and I thank God it wasn’t. My heart is forever indebted to the strangers who became her family when everything else failed. Tomorrow, she comes home. We’ve been preparing, getting things just right so she can finally lay down her armor, rest her spirit, and in doing that, I’ll finally be able to rest mine, too. Thank you, God, for sparing my baby. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11 Goodnight, friends. 🙏🏼 #nostr #grownostr #helena #plebchain https://i.nostr.build/6g9vRgtEMtUqVYM2.jpg https://i.nostr.build/qUEO7qgcDKuuT5QQ.jpg https://v.nostr.build/CkIsEU1fqOOlVv3W.mp4 https://v.nostr.build/nf8al95kIIQUpqkO.mp4 https://i.nostr.build/nZPFRC2O2xJKhfcG.jpg