The news stories about these natural disasters hitting different areas of our world are absolutely devastating. To see the pictures and the videos of the destruction just breaks my heart. Last month when Hurricane Harvey hit, I feel as though my life and views on things were forever altered.
The city that we live in is on the coast of Texas. It’s like one day, Harvey was a small storm brewing and the next thing we know, it has turned into a major hurricane ready for landfall. The schools began to let parents know that it would be canceled and teachers started getting ready to leave town. When I got home after work that Thursday, I packed a small bag for Adi and myself, grabbed all the pictures and disks with pictures that I could and threw them in my car. I thought we would be back in a few days but wanted to be prepared in case something happened to our house. We drove to my sister and mom’s house and waited.
As Harvey hit in a city nearby, there was a sense of relief. Our home would be spared and we could return home to our little life. Unfortunately, the town that we live in has a big river running through it and that river meets up with the ocean. So all the water that had been released from Harvey built up and was going to be coming our way. An emergency meeting was had in our town and they ordered a mandatory evacuation to leave because our whole town was going to be underwater. WHAT? Just a few days before it was just a little rain forecasted. Now, our town was going to be underwater? It was such a roller coaster ride. We’re ok, no we aren’t, yes we’re good, nope not yet.
When M called me to let me know the town was projected to be under 10 feet of water, he started packing. He called me at 3am and started asking what I wanted to save. Ya’ll, I sat there in silence for almost a minute and said “nothing”. There wasn’t one thing that I could think of that I could not live without besides my sweet girl and my husband.
It put a lot into perspective for me sitting there, 180 miles from my home and everything I own at 3 am in the morning, telling my husband I couldn't think of one "thing" that I needed him to save. I think the idea of our house being complete submerged in water and the life we had built in those walls washing away with the river was sobering. As we sat and talked and tried to think about what we would need to last us for the next few days, maybe weeks, maybe months, I found myself thinking that it was all just stuff. It could be replaced or it might not even need to be replaced. Those things just didn't mean as much to me as I thought they might when I was faced with the idea of losing it all.
The roller coaster ended about a week later when I was finally able to go home to a house that was spared any water damage, a town that faced very little damage, and a new perspective on the things that I own or the money that I spend on things that I think I need. I think knowing I had my sweet girl and all of the pictures I have ever taken gave me a little piece of mind but when I got back home, there were things that I never even thought of that might have been good to take. If you were in my shoes, what would you have grabbed?
I can't imagine what that experience must have been like. "Sobering" is the perfect word to describe it. Thanks for sharing the perspective it brought to you. It's amazing how many things we accumulate when really all we need in life is our loved ones. Glad all is well and you are all home safely now.
ReplyDeleteSuch a crazy and nightmare experience my friend - and so terribly heartbreaking!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same when we had our house fire and neighbors kept asking what we would like to save - with my babies and hubs wth me, my answer was also nothing!
So glad you are all safe - praise Jesus x