A homeowner who received help from Samaritan's Purse U.S. Disaster Relief after her home was damaged by the wildfires in Colorado writes a poem to express her gratitude.
Susan Hardy wrote this poem to thank Samaritan’s Purse volunteers after her friends, Dan and Jolene Johnson, lost their home to the Black Forest Fire in Colorado Springs.
The year two thousand and thirteen
in the sunny month of June,
Nature’s fury swept the land
… and nothing was immune.
The perfect Colorado sky
of crystal azure blue
was filled with smoke and ash and soot
of every gloomy hue.
The trees were gone and houses too
all leveled to the ground,
And residents were desperate
for any treasure found.
Volunteers sift through debris to recover valuable belongings.
The overwhelming task at hand
was more than we could bear.
We looked to heaven up above
and whispered silent prayer.
Before we knew it, help arrived
with a sea of tangerine,
All sifting, digging, hauling dreck.
It was an awesome scene.
It mattered not the time of day
or what the task would cost.
With labor’s love and brawny back,
they rescued what was lost.
Our prayers were answered with this crew,
each one a volunteer.
They asked for nothing in return.
We shed our grateful tears.
Devastation now behind us,
a new day has begun.
There are no words to thank them
for all that they have done.
Many found items simply need to be cleaned and then can be used again.
These rescuers from community,
each giving out of love,
To God we give our gratitude
for these folks from heav’n above.
