Irma…After the Storm

We are OK.  Better than OK.  We do not have power or internet, but the generator gives us lights, fans, refrigerator, stove top, and charging abilities.  And ATT&T is giving me free data on my phone for 3 days (So I was able to watch the Pats lose on my phone…sad face).  Now for the story.

Boy did we prep for this storm.  Our neighborhood filled bathtubs and sinks with water, stored all wind whiskable items away.  All of Sector San Juan was evacuated and a make shift headquarters was made in our housing area.  All the single Coasties living in the dorms were then hospitably housed here in our community as well.  All the updates that were given by the National Weather service said Irma was coming directly toward us, so we braced.  We got a call that there was a stranded RP at the airport whose flight was cancelled with all the hotels being full.  They asked if we could house him.  Of course.  So sweet Matt from North Carolina came into our house with Ronnie trying to poop on the pot and the others already stir crazy.  He endured Capt Underpants and being new playground equipment for our exuberant youngsters.   He is stationed in Cuba but was here on vacation and had tried to get out for days with no luck…well, unless he wanted to pay an extra $800 more.

The power went out at 3pm, before any strong winds even were heard.  We watched movies, played games, and eagerly scrutinized the satellite images on our phones.  Nothing shook, nothing broke, and cell service stayed on.  The kids went to bed and we watched one more movie expecting to have the house shake.  Nothing.  NOTHING.  The winds bowed down like a polite Thai child, but the rain could not be heard.

OK, did you see that picture above?  That island is Puerto Rico and Irma’s eye went about 50 miles north of us.  Can you see why we were confused?  We see this ginormous storm right over us and all of us had seen the devastation on the other islands…how could this be?  We went to bed confused and with the generators kicked on thanks to hard working DC Coasties who got wet and dirty to help their neighbors.

We woke up the next day and after being able to cook eggs and bacon on the stove, we walked around the neighborhood to assess the damage.  Just branches.  BRANCHES.  Sector had two trees down and some of the roofs were damaged, but the cars on the pier were still there.  Look at that picture again.

OK, now if you can indulge me one more time by reading this passage of history from Daniel Chapter 3:

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.[a] But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.[b] 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics,[c] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside[d] the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

This is the story that jumped into my mind after the storm passed.  So many of you prayed for us, so many!  And the Lord answered by walking with us in the storm.  We were protected and weren’t even singed!  I know that the Lord should be praised no matter what happens, I know that people prayed for the other islands as well as Houston too, yet vast areas were destroyed.  I pray that the Lord saved us to serve them and others.  That we can be a witness to the world that the Lord has power over the rains and the winds and even amidst mass destruction, he sends his people to help and comfort the downcast.

So although I write this sweating in my living room tethering to my phone, we are blessed beyond measure.  So please, pray for Florida, pray for all those who have already been affected by the storm, and know that the Lord is good and his mercy endures forever.  Great is His Faithfulness.