Flood update

I just realized there were two comments from my flood post that I thought I should respond to. Amy- thanks for asking but luckily their flood insurance should cover most of it (unless you know how to lay asphalt in their driveway which isn't covered!!!). They're staying with family now and are actually pretty lucky relative to lots of other people (which isn't to say that their life hasn't been completely disrupted!).
Whitney-
How nice to hear from you! Grant has been in a different office for about a year now and luckily it didn't have any damage. I didn't hear if his old office building was damaged but I'm guessing the answer is probably yes given its location. I hope your family is doing well. I bet your kids are all grown up now!!!!

Personally I've been impacted by the flood in a surprising way. I think my parents would attest to the fact that I've always been sensitive and tenderhearted. But do you know how as you get older life just gets busy and you learn to block other people out more? Well, on Wednesday Grant and I were finishing up a date and decided to get coffee at a Starbucks in a nice part of town. While we were sitting there I noticed a lady with a large suitcase with missing wheels and fraying bottom, with her head in her hands and looking completely dejected. An employee walked by and this lady asked what time they closed. I just got the feeling that she didn't have anywhere to go. At 10pm the store closed and Grant and I walked out to our car. I noticed the lady dragging this huge suitcase (again, no wheels) into the 24-hour Fed Ex store next door and something in my heart nudged me to help her. I asked Grant and he said okay so we went up to her and asked her if she needed a ride. I guess I thought she was a displaced flood victim and I thought we could help somehow. To make a long story short she said her house had been embezzled and was being investigated by the UN and she had been living at the Red Roof Inn and working odd jobs to make ends meet. The Red Roof Inn had no openings that night so she was just going to sit in Fed Ex all night. My dad has an empty apartment above his detached garage so I was thinking he would probably agree to let her stay there for the night but for some reason she was opposed. We ended up getting her in the car (and thankfully our babysitters - Grant's brother Blake and his wife Jenny - agreed to stay late with our kids) and driving around, trying to call hotels and find one that had a room and was less than $70 (all the cash she had). Eventually we found one and we took her there but of course, there was one last wrench thrown in - the room was $100 and required both a credit card and ID to book it. She said hers had been stolen. Obviously she wasn't mentally stable (that's a nice way to put it) and maybe wasn't being truthful. I don't know. We paid the difference and put the room in her name but guaranteed it with my ID and credit card. We were really nervous but at this point it just felt like too late to say, "Sorry, lady. Good luck." I called after checkout the next day and everything was fine - no additional charges. Even after all the runaround I was glad we did it and I just kept thinking about Mark 9:41 that says anyone who gives even a cup of cold water in Jesus' name will surely not lose their reward. Of course the reward is heaven and that's all I want! I guess what I'm trying to say is that the flood has helped open my heart to hurting people and people in need. And can't we all do that a little better?