She'd had to leave quickly when Hurricane Ike barreled ashore in Highlands, Texas. When Ike left the area, she returned to find her house drowning in four to five feet of water from the storm surge. Just before the storm, she'd washed clothes and placed them on her bed. After the surge, her bed was upside down in the water. Now she has four to six inches of muddy gunk covering everything with strange things slithering around in the muck. She never thought the water would get that far up in her house. She may salvage a few things, but much is lost. FEMA may eventually help, but of course there are things you lose that can't be replaced. As she surveyed her losses, a jewelry box floated into her yard. It wasn't hers.
Yesterday, a church family was trying to help her find a place to wash the clothes she'd managed to grab. When they found a place which had electricity and a washer and dryer, she was thrilled to have five days of clean clothes to wear.
I wonder.
Today, do I dare grumble because there's too much laundry? The carpet needs vacuuming? The lawn needs mowing? The bed needs to be made? Today the stores are closed in Highlands, Texas. But I can go shopping and murmur about the high cost of coffee and gripe because the strawberries are not fresh. Today thousands of homes are destroyed or ruined in Galveston, Highlands, Port Arthur, New Orleans, and more. But I can turn on my lights, fill my tub with water and take a hot bath. I can sleep in my bed without the smell of mold, mud and sewage permeating the air.
The Wednesday night before Ike roared into the Texas, Louisiana coastline and demolished homes, David Brumbelow, pastor of Northside Baptist in Highlands, led his folks in prayer for those already affected in Cuba and Haiti. He led them to pray for a weakened storm, and for God's protection on those who would be affected in Texas. He led his church to give an offering to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (NAMB & IMB). Perhaps we should all do that in light of all the disasters our country has faced in the last few months.
David has shared with me a series of his thoughts about Ike--before and after. Some of the posts below do not tell about an elderly man who fell off his roof yesterday while trying to remove a limb. They do not share that he died and that people are mourning that loss. But these thoughts do give us an idea of specific things for which we can pray for those in these storm-ravaged areas. I've decided to post those thoughts on separate pages so you can get an up-close and personal peek into what they are experiencing in the Gulf of Mexico into his area of Texas. Please feel free to come back here and comment on any of the four posts you read. selahV
HURRICANE IKE, 2008~~Part 1 of 4.
HURRICANE IKE, 2008~~Part 2 of 4.
HURRICANE IKE, 2008~~Part 3 of 4.
HURRICANE IKE, 2008~~Part 4 of 4.
To donate to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts, phone toll-free 866-407-6262 or visit www.namb.net.
