Irene...Irene...

So...

Back in September 2003 - another "I" named hurricane came to town...Isabel was her name.  It was Thursday.

6 weeks earlier, we had moved into our brand new home...brand new as in meaning brand new.  The neighborhood we had moved into was brand new as well...there were only 2 other houses occupied at the time.

Our son went to one of those houses during the storm...no biggy.  Me, Shawn, Kyndall & Taylor all stayed home...(Sounds like a rewrite of this little piggy...)

I love watching thunderstorms...the power of nature is incredible...I love to think of the God behind it all.

So, me & the 3 girls were at the back window of the house...watching the storm.  Then, I saw a tree taller than our 2 story home falling straight at us.  I grabbed Taylor, who was 3 at the time, & yelled for Shawn & Kyndall to run.  The tree, on its way down, grabbed another tree by locking limbs together.  So, it wasn't 1 tree larger than our house, it was 2 of equal size falling right at us.

Obviously, the fall only took a second or 2 at most.  As we ran to the front of the house, the trees hit our house with tremendous force.  They hit so hard, that dishes were knocked from the cabinets & were flying through the kitchen, shattering on the tile floor.  The tree furthest south, hit right at our bedroom & tore part of the roof off...leaving a gaping hole over our bathroom & thereby the dining room beneath...water poured in like a broken dam for hours.

The sound was most memorable...the wind...the trees hitting the house...the dishes...the screams...the panicked voices...

Needless to say, our world was shaken to the foundation quickly.  We had that "deer in the headlights" look for a moment...that "OK what just happened...but everyone is OK" thing going on.  Surreal.

By the time the storm was over, we had 5 trees hit our home doing damage of almost $50,000 dollars!

In the aftermath, we had other still standing trees removed from our yard - for precautionary measures should a storm decide to come again.  Well, the only thing to all this is - the trees that hit our home weren't from our yard...they were from the neighbors.  While we had our trees removed - they got a quote on their still standing - larger than our 2 story home trees.

Now, 8 years later...the neighbors still have those trees they got the quote on - standing like guards right behind our house.  One in particular looks ominous.  It has most of my attention right now regarding any possible thing that might happen.  I.e. If it's going to happen - it feels like that tree is the one that's going to do all the damage.

So, Irene...we are watching you...we are praying to the God of the storms...we are staying close as a family...we are doing all we can, knowing that there are some things that are simply out of our control.  And, should we have a tree still standing Sunday morning, we will breath a sigh of relief...and hope that our neighbor will remove the guard that's looking pretty intimidating right now.  Should we have a tree in our home, we will recoup - just like we did 8 years ago...

Remember - he gives peace that passes our comprehension.

2 Songs that come to mind - take 'em or leave 'em for this moment.

Mercy Me - Send the Rain (I love this particular version) It won't allow me to embed it - but if ya click on it - it will take ya to the song.



Casting Crowns - Praise You in the Storm



Our prayers are with all of our friends...

God IS with You!!!!

peace...

b