Ike Comes Callin' In Kentucky

Sunday, the remains of Ike blew through our area. No rain, at least not here. But the wind was amazing! We had just arrived at church and settled down for Sunday School when the power went out. We made it through Sunday School as the wind gradually increased. The power flickered back on, we thought we'd have church, the power went out again, and we had a shortened service while the wind howled rather dangerously outside.

It was pretty amazing as we stepped out. Branches everywhere, a car damaged, wind still howling. We make it home, and our entire court was a wreck. Trees down everywhere, powerlines stretched across our street. We were amazed that our trees hung in there, with nary a branch....that oak out front is STURDY. SO, we were powerless and the wind continued. I actually wouldn't let the children in their bedrooms because that was nearest to the big tree with loose branches. I'm thankful nothing came down.

Power was out for about 10 hours for our home, longer for others. The city and public schools have shut down for the day today (excluding super cool homeschools!) I know late last night my father in law who lives in the rural area still had no power and they told him it could be a long time before he got it. Thankfully, he has a generator. The damage and power outages extend along the entire region of western Kentucky, even from where I graduated high school.

I thought of where this storm started. THE COAST OF AFRICA. Then, how we felt it in KENTUCKY. That's amazing! AMAZING. I thought of Haiti, and homes made of scrap metals and whatever they can get their hands on, nothing sturdy. How I was relatively safe in my brick home. How I could wrap my arms around my two children, encourage them to pray, listen to them giggle and hide under the kitchen table, looking at a book on storms with a flashlight, and how in my mind's eye, I could see a little tot hiding under there with them.

So last night, I was making supper by the light of a LED lantern, and the oil lamp was about to give us light to eat supper just like on Little House On The Prairie when the lights came on and we let out a shout of hearty approval. Electricity is SUCH a good thing.

The Lord's Day was definitely not wasted. What started as a distraction quickly removed all other distractions. I was able to really think about the blessings we have, and the fact that they all come from the Lord's hand. Haiti is never far off in my mind, but especially yesterday. We all thought of how the same wind that was whirling around us whirled around Port Au Prince, and somehow made us even closer to our little guy. We do hope he comes home quickly.