Storms and sunshine

Jun

19

2023

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Jun

19

2023

Most everyone has heard of the Bermuda Triangle, but most would be surprised to learn that Mississippi has one too. At least that is what I am calling it. Weird weather began last Thursday night with a line of high winds hundreds of miles long that included 70-80 mph wind gusts ripping through the state, lightning, and heavy rain.

We lost power that night and they finally restored it late yesterday afternoon (Sun.). I had six very large trees fall on the high fence that surrounds my property and two trees that fell blocking my driveway. I spent much of Thursday using my skid steer with a grapple attachment and a chainsaw to remove the big trees from the road and fence. I didn’t have any help aside from my wife watching me work from a distance in my four-wheel drive all-terrain vehicle.

Two days earlier I had removed two trees from the fence, and another tree from my long driveway after another storm. It was hard work especially coming soon after my shoulder surgery. It has become a pattern of storms bombarding us like the Blitzkrieg.

The power did not come back on Thursday and the heat and humidity were stifling. Finally, I asked my wife to find us a motel room. There were no rooms available for 50 miles in any direction. It seems there were plenty of people with the same predicament, (several hundred thousand were without power). We ended up staying with her sister who lives about 45 miles away. Throughout our stay with them, every night we had severe thunderstorms to include high winds, lightning, and a deluge of rain.

Ironically, we had been in a drought for about 4 weeks and the ground was so dry it was like a dust bowl and literally cracking in places. I had prayed for rain and during and after this experience sheepishly prayed to God and asked Him to cool it on the rain because we had already received quite enough already. Apparently He did not agree because more rain and thunderstorms continue and are forecast for every day this week. I do not like imposing on anyone for anything, but it began to look like we may end up staying with my in-laws for maybe even a week or two. Egad!

Power was out all the way to Vicksburg and our community got hit very hard. I was very impatient with all of this and fretting about it to no end and then I thought of all the people in this poverty-stricken state that literally could not afford to get a motel room and/or drive somewhere to stay where there was air conditioning and then I realized that many folks who life in our little community don’t have air conditioning – EVER! Yikes it was 94 degrees with 100% humidity after that storm. I asked God to forgive me for being impatient and to please help the people of this state, particularly the poor.

Today started out being overcast but clearing. If it is like every other day lately, we will have blue sky most of the day and then by afternoon the storms will start rolling through. I am prepared to grin and bear it. After much thought about this dilemma, the many storms of life I have endured came to mind. And in the grand scheme of things this wasn’t/isn’t so bad, it’s more of an inconvenience than anything. Most of the time I have found that the storms of life bring out the best in people. My neighbors rallied to support us, one neighbor and his son brought a big generator over to keep our refrigerators running and another fed, watered, and exercised my lab and looked out after the place for us while we were gone.

We all go through storms in this life. If you are currently going through one I would encourage you to think about other storms you have gone through in life and realize that you made it through them and now they are just distant memories. Realize there are kindhearted people in this world who are eager to help, so don’t turn them down.

We ALL have storms and then they are gone. Have some patience and just realize that each minute that elapses you are closer than you were before and remember that soon enough, this too shall pass!

A lady who is a legend in Thomasville GA community had the roads on her plantation named Tenacious, Perseverance and so on to remind her what is needed when the storms come. She had been through many terrible storms in her life and yet not only survived but thrived and through sheer willpower built one of the finest quail hunting properties in the country. She loved quail hunting, horses, and beautiful land. She did not allow the storms of life (and there were many) to ruin it for her. As many a hunter who visited the plantation and was lucky enough to hunt with her soon discovered she was still a heck of a good shot even in in her latter years.

2 Cor. 4:13
Their suffering is enormous, but God keeps them from being wiped out. They don’t quit because even after they die, they know they will be resurrected, as Christ was.

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