A friend smiled at me and said, “I have two words for you: hunker down!” He was right. The third hurricane to hit our town in just two years was headed in our direction. Longtime residents of Valdosta, Georgia, tell me that the force of these storms this far inland is unprecedented. Last year Hurricane Idalia devastated our little city. Hurricane Debby hit us in August of this year.
Friends of our daughter Carrie invited us to ride out Hurricane Helene in their spacious and beautiful home in the country. They had a generator with enough power to provide electricity for several days. Their big, strong house was like a fortress. We felt welcomed and we are grateful to our friends for providing that safe haven for Connie and me.
Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area the evening of September 26. It marched north and hit Valdosta about midnight. The next morning uprooted trees and downed power lines blocked roadways. My son-in-law and grandsons hoisted chainsaws and helped our host clear fallen trees and debris near his house. All day we heard reports of widespread damage and power outages throughout Valdosta
Since we knew it would be a while until electricity would be restored to our neighborhood, Connie and I decided to evacuate to our daughter Mary’s home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We stayed there for a week until we got power again at home. During that week we followed the news about the terrible effects of flooding in Appalachia caused by the hurricane.
Coincidentally, we had visited friends just a few weeks before in Asheville and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and in Connie’s hometown of Damascus, Virginia. Like the rest of the nation we were saddened by the stories of catastrophic destruction of property and loss of life throughout the region.
I have been without internet service from September 27 until the date of this writing, October 14. That is why I have been unable to write new entries for hiswillblog,com.
Connie and I are thankful to the Lord for his provision and protection. The words to a gospel song by Mosie Lister have been on my mind.
“In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face / While the storm howls above me, and there’s no hiding place. / ‘Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord hear my cry. / Keep me safe till the storm passes by.
“Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more, / till the clouds roll forever from the sky; / hold me fast, let me stand, in the hollow of your hand. / Keep me safe till the storm passes by. ”
Pastor Randy Faulkner