Feeling all the feels

Gloria came home from school this week with a packet on hurricanes. When asked how she felt about her first hurricane experience, Gloria circled: 

Afraid, Happy, Horrified, Lonely, Nervous, Optimistic, Shocked, Upset, and added another Happy. 

Like Gloria, all of us were riding a roller coaster of emotions last week.

Just as we were settling into a new routine, two hurricanes were heading our way.

The girls had just begun the school year, but then school was cancelled for the entire week.

The midwife came for a regular checkup. She noted how low baby was and said labor could begin anytime.  

Since contractors removed sections of rotten floor in our kitchen, living room and the older girls' bedroom, Matt spent Monday purchasing and installing new flooring. And, anticipating that we might be homebound for a while, Matt went to the grocery store and stocked up on food.

But then, we were inundated with messages advising us to evacuate. 

When the neighboring rancher came knocking on our door Tuesday morning and said, "Its time for y'all to leave," we decided we should begin to pack.

 

Although the first hurricane had already been downgraded, the second one was predicted to be a category 4 hurricane and cause an un-survivable storm surge in our area.

But where would we go? How long would we be gone? How should we prepare our home for the storm? And what do we pack?

OH, and in case there weren't enough things to consider, Tuesday happened to be Josephine's 14th birthday. There was a real temptation to get swept up in all the unknowns and let our emotions run wild.     

Praise God, a missionary sister called. Not only did she open her home to our family, but she heard my concern about the possibility of our baby being born at any moment and offered to lead us in prayer. While we prayed over the phone, we were reminded God is our refuge and He would lead us in acting with prudence.   

As we began packing, suddenly our phone started vibrating with messages. Several people invited us to stay in their home and one missionary family said they were available to come pray with us before they too evacuated. 

After lunch we gathered with our missionary friends. Together we lifted our voices in songs of praise, read the Daily Readings and then offered up intentions. At times the rain was pounding so hard on the roof we could scarcely hear one another. While all of us had been reluctant to leave our homes, we recognized how the Lord was beginning to bless us with new opportunities to be humble and open to His tender care.   

The Lord is near to all who call upon him. - Psalm 145:18

We decided to head an hour north to a house in the country. The owners of the home were gone on vacation for the week and we would share it with another missionary couple.  

Despite all the turmoil, we were able to settle in at the host family's house and all of us slept soundly through the storm Wednesday night. The next morning we ventured outside, We had lost power and the ground was covered with broken tree limbs. Matt met the next door neighbor who just happened to be a labor and delivery nurse. 

Thursday afternoon we met up with friends in a neighboring town. We brought a cooler with water, carrots and Jo's (2-day old) birthday cookie cake. They had brisket cooking on the grill. We sat outside in the shade to catch the soft breeze on a 90 degree day while the kids played. As we drove back to the house in the country that evening, we were rejoicing to see that many homes on our street had lights on - including the one where we were staying. But lo and behold, angels had shown up with a generator and two window a/c units. Thank you Jesus!

A week or so earlier, Josephine had been struck by this Scripture verse from Exodus during her prayer time and wrote it on our prayer board. At first I foolishly clung to this verse to justify why we didn't need to evacuate. But the truth is that when I turn to God and rest in Him, he invites me to surrender my pride and my desire to make my own plans. God is the one who is all-knowing and all-powerful and who desires to bless me and provide for all my needs. Do I trust Him?

Friday morning we got word that power was restored at Stillwater. The generator had run out of gas and power still hadn't been restored to the country house, so we packed up using headlamps. About halfway back to Abbeville, we noticed a strange noise coming from our car. Matt pulled over at a gas station and found the rear passenger side tire was flat. I searched for a tire shop on google maps and one was a mere half mile away. Matt filled the tire with air and we made it safely to the service center. We had just enough time to walk over to the mall and eat lunch before the mechanic called to say he had installed two new tires and we were set to go.   

Mid-afternoon Friday we pulled into Stillwater, parked in front of our house and started to unload. Much to our dismay, our house did not in fact have power. For some reason the retreat cabins and main area had power but the other buildings on the property didn't. So that night we got the real Stillwater Retreat Center experience. We stayed in the cabins and cooked dinner with an electric skillet and rice maker. 

Overnight power was restored to our house. The kids couldn't wait to be back home. Saturday morning we packed up once again and unpacked for the last time. We were amazed and grateful that our house had not been damaged at all.

This past Thursday we gathered with a couple friends for a make-up birthday dinner for Josephine. She is navigating her freshman year of high school with confidence, great joy and deep gratitude to be back in a Catholic school. Theology is her favorite class. At first she was excited about her school providing a chrome book and having virtual school 2-3 days a week. But her extroverted nature craves human interaction in the flesh. We are proud of the young lady she is becoming. 

A few weeks ago Josephine painted this cross for our new baby. It is a reminder of how each day we walk by faith in Christ Jesus. Now we rest and wait for baby's arrival. Thanks Be to God for His steady and unfailing Love!