My first experience with a tropical storm. Well, not exactly. Last August when Alex, my youngest, and I were visiting Florida we briefly thought that Ericka was going to pack a punch but she fizzled out and didn’t do much at all. Then we had a little visit from Colin this spring but that wasn’t too bad either. The weather experts didn’t get too excited.
This week has been interesting as the experts watch the storm develop and make guesses as to what will happen. Not unlike the way they tracked blizzards in Iowa, actually. It still amazes me how many people expect the meteorologists to have perfect forecasts. And how nasty people can be when the predictions turn out to be off the mark. How did we become a society that doesn’t allow for mistakes and adjustments?
Yesterday we got over 5 inches of rain. It rained all day. It was actually only about 75 degrees which was a nice change from the constant 90s we’ve experienced all summer. We even opened the windows for a while. The smell of the rain was wonderful!
As we heard reports of road closings and church and school cancellations we knew it was time to take action. The growing pond in the back yard was also becoming a concern. Finally the guys left to get some sand bags and non-perishable foods incase we lose power. One discover they made was that there aren’t many choices of foods that don’t require refrigeration that don’t wear the label of “junk food.” They managed to find sardines and tuna salad kits as well as some fresh fruits and raw veggies that will get us through if we need them. Of course, they had to make sure we had some pop tarts too!
In the afternoon, after it had been raining for hours, we realized that one of the downspouts wasn’t working. All the water was gathering at the foundation of the house. Several of the adults went out and took turns climbing on the step ladder with various tools to try to clear away the blockage. After much laughter and good natured teasing about how this wasn’t how they had planned to spend the day, getting soaked and dirty, the water began to run freely. There were victory whoops that I’m sure the entire neighborhood could hear!
This morning things are calm for the moment. The rain has stopped temporarily and if you didn’t know what was coming, you might just think the worst was over. The only indication that things are still changing is the slight increase in the wind. I guess this is the calm before the storm. It makes me think about how life is that way too.
We can go along completely content, never realizing that the storm is approaching. Then suddenly we are caught off guard. I guess it’s a good thing we don’t know what’s ahead all the time. God protects us from some difficult things in the future on purpose. Still, He does tell us to be prepared. He gives us many warnings about the general direction we are headed and asks us to trust Him and heed His warnings. We have things to do to prepare for the future. We would be wise to do so now, while the rain and wind are still off shore.