First let me start off by saying that our house north of
Houston was spared any flooding during Hurricane Harvey. We have others in our
community who were not so lucky. Even for us ‘survivors’, it was life changing event and I’ll not soon forget
the anxiety, helplessness, loneliness, and anguish I felt as the rain trapped us in our home
while we restlessly watched our city and our region disappear under water.
We
were lucky. Because of the elevation of our house, I never worried much about a
major flooding incident. While I was briefly worried we may be asked to
evacuate, putting ourselves in a risky situation on the roads, the worst I
actually faced was entertaining a stir crazy 3 year old for days on end.
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| Lots of coloring.... |
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| playing with kinetic sand... |
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| playing in the rain... |
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| making our own play doh... |
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| setting up an art studio in the garage.. |
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| more rain playing... |
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| fort building... |
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| name writing... |
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| stick figure drawing... |
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| and of course, train track building. |
We had plenty of netflix marathons, but even my TV obsessed tot was bored of it after the second day. Also, setting up a
make-shift storm shelter in the bathroom for the frequent tornadic activity was zero fun.
But alls
well that ends well and we are ok! What we are concerned for now are our fellow
Texans who have suffered the loss of their homes and their possessions, and who
have experience horrific trauma escaping the flood waters. The past week a been
a frenzy of ‘what can I do?’. Trying to volunteer is like waiting to buy Garth Brooks
tickets the second they go on sale. All
the slots are filled before you can reply: ME! ME! I’LL DO IT!
It’s been a
beautiful thing to witness the coming together of our community. You’ll be hard
pressed to find more diverse town than Houston, and though the media would have
us believe we are irrevocably different and divided, the last 2 weeks have shown that
we are not. That the majority of us value every life, no matter the age, color,
income, language, religion or political affiliation that labels it.
I also feel like this tragedy has
unearthed that thing. That God thing. That ‘made in His image’thing that keeps us up at night weeping for
strangers and brainstorming ideas to ease their suffering. My prayer is for
relief and recovery and for sustained compassion. That Harvey and Houston aren’t
forgotten with the landfall of Irma, but that we persist in the months to come
with the same urgency to help and comfort we have all experienced these last few weeks.
I
already feel the adrenaline dissipating. Today was the first day that felt
normal. I went to Target and almost forgot to check the ‘donations needed’ list
at our church. But I don’t want to feel normal. I want to wake up every morning
asking the Lord ‘How can I be your hands
and feet today?’.
So much of my ministering comes in the form of raising a
little one these days. It’s easy to say ‘my plate is full already’ and also
easy to take on so much that my role as a mother and a wife gets compromised. I am
looking for that perfect balance. As Forest gets older and easier and it looks like
he’ll remain an only child, I’m definitely feeling that I might finally have a little
extra time and energy to spare, and I’m keeping my heart and spirit open for opportunities
to serve. If you want to help support the relief efforts here in Texas, here are some great stewards
for your donations:
Some local churches and organizations in our area who are doing a great job in organizing funds, resources and manpower for those whose homes flooded:
If you'd rather donate goods than money, here are some Amazon wishlists both for the demo of flooded houses and for schools and families who lost everything and are needing their basic necessities replenished:
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