Hurricane Irene has come and gone; she was a beast to many. All one has to do is turn on the news to see the havoc she has wreaked and hear of the deaths she has caused.
She was my "first" hurricane. It is terrifying to watch the news and hear the authorities and governement officials telling individuals in your area to, "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." We headed their instructions, and then we watched the television, closely, the path of the storm. We prayed it would just head deep out into the ocean away from all humans, and then simply, disappear.
We listened to the reports that it was headed straight for us. We watched as it viciously ripped through other states before us. We had only two things we could do: wait and pray.
Besides a wet basement, fallen limbs and closed roads all around us, we are fine. We had no real damage to our home. We were kept safe. We are safe. Tonight, I'm not going to go into details about the hurricane. Instead, I am writing to say, "thank you."
In the days leading up to the hurricane, I began getting phone calls, texts, facebook messages and wall posts. They all expressed a common theme. "We love you guys. We are praying for you all. Keep us posted. We're thinking of you all."
Each text, phone call, and facebook post and message meant the world to us. We were trying our best not to be afraid, but when you have no other family around, it's easy to let fear creep in. All of the constant communication from friends and family from Illinois and other areas gave us confidence. We KNEW so many people were praying and beliving for us. So many prayers were going up to the Lord Almighty for us.
We knew we had people all over following the news and tracking Hurricane Irene just to see how close she would be coming to our area. We even had people up throughout the night last night tracking the storm, even as we were sleeping.
We miss our church from Illinois. We miss it immensely. The pastor and congregation there prayed for us this morning, and for the rest of the east coast. When someone called and told me that, I cried. My parent's church did the same thing. They prayed for my family! There is nothing more we could ask for.
Moving across the country has proven to be challenging. There are days when it is exciting and I feel accomplished, strong and capeable. Other days, I feel lonely and forgotten. When I feel that way, it is like I am being tortured from within. I wouldn't wish those feelings on anyone. It has nothing to do with my husband or kids, or even if my day was "good" or "bad." It is just a feeling that does its best to creep up on me every now and then. I refer to it as the "alien on another planet" feelling.
So, to all of you who texted me, messaged me, called me, etc...during this frightening time...I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We all do. We felt each and every prayer. I knew that prayers were going up for us all over the United States because we had such peace. It's not that we weren't afraid, or dreading the storm, but we were experiencing the peace deep within us that can only come from God. Not only were we protected, but He calmed the raging storm in our minds and hearts regarding Irene.
We feel loved. We feel "thought of." We feel cherished. As my husband and I were sitting in the living room watching the news last night, in the middle of the night, with the winds raging outside and pounding on our home, I thought of all of you and your prayers and words of encouragement. You all gave us strength for the storm.
Today, we are praising the Lord that the storm has passed and we are able to talk about it tonight because we are here and unharmed!
We thank our Heavenly Father for our friends and family who rode every wave of this storm with us. What a ride it was!
No comments:
Post a Comment