...horrors...

Houston. Rockport. Surrounding cities and towns. Utter chaos. Devastation. HORROR. Hurricane Harvey HORRORS.

I’m talking homes and vehicles gone. Lives lost. Snakes. Alligators. Floating beds of fire ants. (If you’ve never seen what a floating fireant bed looks like—Google it. Our oldest son said those give him the creeps and shivers as much as the alligators and snakes.) Keepsakes and memories destroyed. I’m talking hungry, wet, cold, exhausted, frightened, sick, thirsty men, women, children, babies, animals. Lives changed forever. FOREVER.

Fortunately for My Sweet Hubby (MSH), TLC and me, our sons (her four brothers) and their wives and kids, who all live in Houston, are fine. One is still stuck in his home. But it’s two-story and today he says things are looking up. The youngest—who is an ER doctor—says the hospitals are a whole different kind of nightmare. So many people needing medical attention. He's pooped. But working as hard as he can to help.

As we’ve watched it all on television, seen our sons’ pictures and read their texts, we’ve gone in and out of all of these feelings and emotions: Shock. Confusion. Anger. Sadness. Disbelief. Sheer JOY—when watching and listening to the Grace, Love and Kindness of Strangers. MORE SADNESS. Hopelessness. Then HIGH HOPES. Then more all-consuming SADNESS.

I don’t understand hurricanes. Flooding. Tornadoes. Natural disasters. Mother Nature at her WORST. Mother Nature being PSYCHOTIC. I haven’t found anyone who really does understand these unbelievable and horrific events. At 63, I try to tell myself to stop trying to understand. Understanding will never happen. Not here on Earth.

But I do believe in God. And the power and strength of the human spirit. I must. I do. So does MSH. TLC. We believe with all of our hearts and souls that someday we will know the answers to this incredible pain.

So we keep praying. Hoping. Encouraging. Praying. Attempting acceptance. We all must pray for the victims of Harvey to stay determined to move onward. Forward. Steadily. With determination that cannot waver.

If you’ve not been affected by Hurricane Harvey, you’re blessed. If you’ve never been affected by a natural disaster, you are double blessed. I've only seen the damage these weather extremes have unleashed on this World. Let's all, please, thank God right now we're lucky if we haven't gone through any of these firsthand. And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for the people of Houston, Rockport, South Texas coastal cities and Texas and Louisiana cities and towns even hundreds of miles away. They all need our constant prayers. They'll need them for a long, long time.

ELC