Hope in the Hurricane

Have you ever lived through a hurricane? 

The Monday before was a normal day at school.  I didn't even realize that there was a possibility of school being closed for the next couple days as Hurricane Michael was developing out in the Gulf.  As I was on my way up to the front office to sign in for the day one of the coaches said we'd probably be closed the rest of the week due to the storm.  I was oblivious to the fact that it was going to head straight for us or even be any kind of a threat for the schools to be closed.  By the end of the day our Superintendent decided to close schools Tuesday through Thursday so we could use some of our schools as shelters and to ensure students safety.  Most everyone in our small rural community of Calhoun County, Florida really believed that once it hit land it would start to dissipate and by the time it got to us we'd be just fine.  So, I'm thinking on Monday afternoon, "What am I going to do with 3 unplanned days off?"  You see, this has happened to us before.  There is a storm brewing out in the Gulf, we get two or three days off and suffer through a little bit of wind and some overcast days and then we return to school and everything picks up as usual.  

Tuesday, October 9th.  Spent most of this day doing normal stuff with a day off.  Worked on lesson plans for school, exercised, laid around watching t.v., took a nap, etc.  I did do something I've never done before.  As bad weather comes our way we usually say a prayer over our trees and our home.  We have huge oaks in our yard and it's one of the reasons we love living where we do.  I decided with the storm coming I should actually touch and lay hands on our trees and home and pray that God would not break our trees and that he would protect our home.  Overall the weather was cloudy and sunny at times but we knew the Hurricane was still on it's way.

Wednesday, October 10th.  Woke up to heavy wind outside and some rain.  We saw through the news that the Hurricane was now up to a Category 4 but we still felt like we'd be okay to stay home as we truly believed it would dissipate when it hit land. Plus we are about an hour from the coast so we should be fine.  My morning started out pretty normal.  Prayed, read, exercised, took a shower, worked on lesson plans.  Our neighbor came by at 10:30am and said that he and his wife were going to leave because if they lost power it would be an issue due to his wife needing electricity for a machine she used at night.  It was pretty windy and rainy outside.  We still didn't think we needed to leave.  We had prepared to lose power for a couple of days as we purchased water, cans of tuna, bread, peanut butter, etc.   We truly didn't know what we were in store for.  

I was sitting on the computer watching the wind outside when we lost power.  It flickered a couple of times about 30 minutes earlier but came back on.  I kept praying that we wouldn't lose power.  You see, we've been through tropical storms and hurricane type weather before and not even lost power so I believed that this was a possibility.  At noon the power finally went off and stayed off.  The wind continued to get worse.  We stood by our windows in the front of our house and watched our huge oak trees take a beating.  They never really sway in the wind because they are so big but today it was different.  Around 1:00pm we decided to not stand by the windows anymore as the winds were getting stronger and stronger.  Standing proud outside our carport area we have a huge cedar tree that stands at least 40 feet.  The wind was whipping the branches of that tree!   We were seeing branches falling on the ground.  At 1:30pm I noticed some black things in the back of our yard.  It took me a minute to realize it was shingles from our roof, the wind was continuing to get stronger.  We decided to get into the closet in our bedroom.  The chimney is on one side of it and a bathroom on the other.  No windows so it was dark in there.  At around 2:10pm we heard a loud bump.  Daniel got up and came back in and said that two of our huge trees in the front yard were down.  He said that one of them was resting on our porch.  What???  I'm starting to really freak out.  Praying?  Of course!!!  At 2:35pm our daughter, who was towards the back of the closet, said, "Hey, I'm getting wet!"  We realized at that time that our chimney cap had come off and it was leaking in the closet.  We then moved to the edge of the closet.  We could hear things being dragged across our roof and didn't know what it was.  We didn't know if it was loose shingles, tree limbs or what.  I could feel the house shaking and the wind howling.  Around 3:30pm we moved locations.  We ended up moving from the closet to our stairwell.  Around 3:40pm our back french doors flew open. My husband stood there keeping them closed the best he could.  The wind had now shifted from the east to the west.  We are now on the backside of the hurricane.  At 3:50pm I had severe pressure in my ears, the house continued to shake and I continued to pray for the lives of my family.  At 5:00pm the wind died down enough that we felt like we could get out of the stairwell.  We just walked around the inside of our house looking outside the windows and seeing our huge oaks laying beside each window.  There was not a window we could look out without seeing trees down.  The trees did not break, they were uprooted!  Shingles all over the place, we saw metal wrapped around one of our trees.  We don't even have any metal around our home, so where did it come from?  The cotton field in front of our house lost 90% of it's cotton.  Our driveway was impassable due to the trees down across it.  We realized very quickly that we were alive, together and that's what was most important.  Luckily I was able to stay in contact with my family members during the storm.  They were all safe.  Afraid, but safe.  The most important thing was knowing that my family was safe.  Everything else didn't matter in that moment.  You realized really fast what was important to you!

With no power and it still being stormy and windy outside it got dark pretty fast.  We had the windows opened to let the air flow through the house.  It was still very windy when we went to bed.  During the middle of the night the house became disturbingly peaceful and quiet.  No wind, just silence.  The silence was so loud that it woke you up and reminded you of what you just experienced.  The air quickly became soiled.  Everything felt damp.  The carpet, the bed, my body.  I laid there thinking about the experience of it all.  I also realized how small I am in the grand scheme of life and how not in control I really am.  It made me thankful to be alive but it also made me thankful that I know there is a God and that he works all things out for good.

The next morning it seemed like it took forever for the sun to come up.  We walked around outside looking at the damage.  Several places in our home leaked, luckily no windows broken, no vehicles destroyed but most of our trees completely uprooted.  I realized really fast that I prayed the wrong prayer on Tuesday.  I prayed that they would not break.  I never dreamed that they would be uprooted entirely.  One of the big oaks was laying on our porch.  We also had a huge limb that was stuck in the side of our house.  I don't even know where this big limb came from.  

We checked on some of our neighbors and realized we were all okay but looking around there was so much destruction.  We were able to get out of our house and ride into Altha and get to my oldest daughter.  Everything looks so bad, trees down, power lines down, houses destroyed.  Pictures do not tell the story.  Words don't tell the story.  

Over the years of my life God has allowed certain "hurricanes" to come into my life.  Today is November the 13th.  Three years ago on this date my little dog Raisen was attacked by a coyote.  We found her laying in the dirt, mangled up but still breathing.  We had to take her to an animal hospital hoping her life could be spared.  We had to leave her there.  On our way home we got the call that she didn't make it.  To date it has been one of the hardest hurricanes I've been through. 

So how do we manage to get through these "hurricanes" in life?  We have to believe.  We have to believe that God is good even if the circumstances around us tell us something different.  We have to believe in God's goodness because of the hope that he provided us when he sent Jesus.  Because God sent his son, Jesus Christ into the world, I believe that he works all things out for good.  Because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I believe that I can be reunited with the people and pets that I've lost in this lifetime someday in heaven.  Because of Jesus Christ, I believe that I am loved by God.  Because of Jesus Christ, when I feel weak I can depend on him.  Because of Jesus Christ, when I am unloving, he loves.  Because of Jesus Christ, when there is no hope, I am hopeful.  Because of Jesus Christ, when the hurricanes come we can still be hopeful in his grace, mercy, peace, comfort, faithfulness and love.

I don't know the hurricanes that you are facing in life and I know that some are category 1's and some are category 5's.  Each hurricane in life is unique to the individual who is experiencing it.  Some  hit fast and hard and some are slow and painful.  I don't have all the answers as to the "why" behind them.  I do know that if you can go to your heavenly father in these times and pour your heart out to him he can comfort you through them.  He can provide things for you that you never dreamed he could.  He will be with you through this time, he will provide things that you need, he will comfort you and sustain you.  Just believe in his goodness, be truthful to him in your prayers and he will comfort you in ways that I cannot explain.

If you'd like to watch some of the video I took before and after the storm click here.

If you'd like to read further about Raisen's story and how God provided after that hurricane in our lives, click here.