The Beautiful Ugliness of a Storm

A storm triggers something within me that causes me to want to experience it up close, but maybe not so personal. My daughter, Susan, who is a science teacher, is just like me in that regard. Yesterday afternoon as we were beginning to feel the first real effects of Hurricane Florence, I imagined Florence as a raging, angry vixen fiercely dancing across the sky, dressed in her black battle attire, continuously twirling around and around, her massive spinning skirt unleashing a destructive punch. Florence’s performance for me has been very entertaining as my seat has been near the hem of her skirt tail. We have not experienced any damage, nor have we been inconvenienced so far.

Yesterday I sat out on our screened porch admiring the ominous looking clouds zooming overhead. The rain fell heavy at times and continues to fall this morning. We had three inches yesterday and I imagine at least another inch through the night. Sitting, and listening to the rain reminded me of days I would to be in the barn playing when a thunderstorm would bring a sudden downpour. I remember lying on the hay in the loft listening to the rain on the barn’s tin roof. There was something peaceful and satisfying about those experiences and so it was yesterday.  

As I sat on my porch the mournful howling of the wind brought back memories of night time storms when I was safely hidden under the covers on my bed. Even as a child I very rarely was afraid of the thunder, the lightning or the wind. Yesterday the wind speed was forty to forty five miles an hour with gusts a bit higher. The tall North Carolina pine trees towering over the houses behind our house swayed, bending a bit from the force of the wind. Invisible, yet powerful is the mighty wind. Isn’t it amazing how much damage the wind from a hurricane or a tornado can do to property and also how it can take lives in a moment.

Florence continues to bring pain, sorrow and suffering to people in North Carolina and South Carolina. Last night over 20,000 people were in shelters in North Carolina and thousands of others have gone west to stay in hotels or with family. These people will return to their destroyed or flooded homes in a few days, and many of them will still not have a place to live. There are people in an area just southeast of us who are still displaced because of Hurricane Matthew two years ago. Hurricane Florence will change many lives at least for a few months. Most will recover, but some may never know life as it was before the storm. These people need our prayers; they need someone to help and to encourage them. Please pray for the people of the Carolinas.