During times of tragedy, we are reminded to hold our loved ones a little closer …
I woke up this morning, much like yesterday morning, not knowing what to expect with our weather situation. I slowly opened my eyes and noticed a light in the hallway, evidence that we had not lost power overnight. All my thoughts immediately went to thankfulness…
Many of you know we moved here from Florida years ago. Hurricanes are something I am unfortunately all too familiar with. In fact, the year we relocated to North Carolina, we had 4 hurricanes hit our area within 6 weeks. Central Florida only has a span of about 150 miles across, so most hurricanes in that area impact both sides of the peninsula, even if it is not a direct hit.
All too often we learned to navigate hurricanes growing up. We learned how to secure ourselves and our homes, how to shop in anticipation of the storm, how to prepare meals without power and how to live through to see the other side of the storm. Floridians learn this quickly. So, while I knew how to prepare, I did not know the outcome…that is always unknown with any force of nature.
I have watched and waited all week for the outcome of Hurricane Florence. Some saw torrential rain and flooding, and so much damage … my heart is so heavy for those, and they are definitely in my prayers. Thankfully, Burlington was spared from the wrath of Florence. We have seen rain and light wind in this part of the Triad, but nothing more.
The rain continues to fall today - we will have a few more days of rain and are still under flash flood warnings, but so far we have been blessed to have not been impacted more by this storm. Today, we hug our loved ones a little closer in appreciation.
So, for us, we return to normal tomorrow…back to school, back to work, back to life. However, for so many today, tomorrow and days, weeks, months ahead will be a journey through crisis, learning to rebuild and renew in the midst of loss. We will continue to pray for the Carolinas as they heal from the impact of this storm.