“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107: 1 CSB
I’m sitting in a quiet house surveying the landscape of our yard after the largest and strongest hurricane I’ve ever experienced in my life—Category 4 Hurricane Helene. My husband and I are grateful to be alive with our home intact. God’s mercy and grace are evident as it looks like a tornado came through our yard and the woods on our property. Trees snapped, uprooted, and blocked access to exiting our road. Roofing tin laying in our yard and another piece stopped by a lone tree in front of our bedroom window. Power has been out since midnight with no restoration for days at the least.
Yet, I am giving thanks for evidence of God’s faithful love. We have no need of medical care. We have some emergency canned food available. A generator is keeping our cold and frozen food safe. Our children have called to check on us. There is a slight breeze as I adjust to life with no AC.
As the sun begins to brighten the devasted landscape, a yellow butterfly flits by. There is life after a destructive storm. The grazing cattle in the pasture across the road are baffled by and playing with some construction insulation from some destroyed structure. All our pecans, including one such tree, are on the ground. There is hope they will dry out, and we can collect them before all the squirrels. Our rose and azalea bushes survived though bare of blooms. There will eventually be more blooms and flowers. Cleaning up the yard debris will give me extra exercise and strength training. Priorities are changing as we evaluate our next steps in moving towards recovery and helping others currently in need.
It will take weeks, months, and even years to fully recover from the effects of the storm, but we can be thankful God will be faithful to meet us with each decision and need. In the meantime, we will “give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1
Barbara Taylor
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