Vanessa and I were awakened at 2:59 a.m., this past Saturday to a thunderous crash. No, it wasn’t thunder. It was the crashing of a great white oak tree into our home during the passing of (by then) Tropical Storm Delta. Honestly, I knew what happened the moment I heard the crash. Vanessa and I were fine, so even in that moment, there was no fear. My first thought was, “Now everything is going to be wet.”

We hurriedly made our way to the back part of our house from whence the crash came. We still had electricity so we turned on the light to discover the exterior wall to our recently renovated dining room buckled under the weight of the tree, but surprisingly, the tree did not penetrate the ceiling anywhere in the house (the roof is another story!). Our back porch took the brunt of the tree’s weight and kept it out of the interior of the home. I’m thanking God for that back porch!

What did we do next? Well, the only thing we could do–we went back to bed. Well, Vanessa went back to bed. I went to sleep in my chair listening to the howling of the wind and the dripping of water inside my house. It wasn’t long until I heard another crash. This time it wasn’t our house. It was our neighbor’s house. They took a tree about the same size that hit ours (30″ in diameter). No one was hurt in that crash, either.

You’re probably wondering by now why I’m telling you all this. I’m telling you all this because the “crash” prevented me from doing any writing this week, so I don’t have much to blog about. There will be no deep theological reflections this week. My Saturdays and Sundays have recently been reserved for any writing that needs to be done, but this Saturday and Sunday were otherwise occupied. I’m spending this early Wednesday morning simply trying to put some words on paper (?) as a discipline to keep creative juices flowing…that and a regular rhythm of posting to the blog (experts say consistency is one way to grow a blog).

So, I’ll just say that we’re grateful for so many things over the past week. I am grateful that Vanessa and I celebrated 39 years of marriage on Friday, and in those 39 years, we never once (that we can remember) filed a homeowners insurance claim. We can take that off our list of “never before’s”.

I am also grateful that we were not hurt, that the tree fell in a good place (if there is such a place) if it had to fall at all, and that (as far as we can tell), it didn’t do any damage to our deck. I am grateful that we have insurance, and that we know people who get things done (or, we know people who know people who get things done). I am grateful for family and friends who have reached out in love and concern, and for neighbors who care about neighbors.

In my gratitude, I am also prayerful and mindful of others whose losses are far greater than ours. What we suffer is going to be a minor inconvenience. Yes, it’ll be frustrating going through the process of repairing and rebuilding what’s been damaged, and it’ll be expensive, too (do you know about “Named Storm Deductibles“?), but I’m grateful that we have the resources to take care of the needs we encounter. There are many others who don’t, and our prayers are for them.

I am mindful of our neighbors and friends in southwest Louisiana who have dealt with two hurricanes in a month’s time, whose lives and livelihoods have been (literally) destroyed by nature’s wrath. My prayers are with them, and our financial support has already gone to ministries who are helping in those areas. Were I still in vocational ministry, I’m sure I would have spent time in those areas helping, but…

Life throws us curveballs sometimes. That’s just life. I officiated a wedding Saturday evening for my niece. Hurricane Delta provided an excellent example for me to share with the bride and groom. The rehearsal and dinner were held amid a torrential downpour as the storm quickly made its way toward our area. I told the couple on Saturday that they survived a hurricane to make it to the altar. Let that always remind them that when the next storm comes (metaphorically speaking), they can face it knowing they survived a hurricane to get there. If they can survive a hurricane, they can survive anything.

So, we’ll get the insurance adjusters and the contractors and we’ll get started rebuilding. We’ll survive the inconvenience and we’ll thank the Lord for His mercy and grace to do so, and for the resources necessary to make it a reality. We’ll also remember those who haven’t been quite so blessed, and do what little we can to help them experience His mercy and grace, too.

Until next time, keep looking up…