"WHOA"!..it was all I could say. I couldn't believe what i was looking at. There in the middle of my sister's wall was a hole caused by the tree that had just fallen seconds ago because of the incredibly powerful winds of hurricane Ike. This was actually pretty unexpected; our power was still on and everything, so I thought things outside weren't too bad..at least not bad enough to snap the trees in our yard. I was still in shock of what had just happened, when a second tree (this one in the front of the house) fell as well. I was terrified. We heard it hit near our entry way. Fortunately it didn't break any of the windows, but it did cause a little damage above our door... and A LOT of noise.
I felt completely helpless, and other than pray, I knew there was nothing that I could do. Those several hours of intense storming had to have been some of the longest hours of my life!! It was the worst feeling to know that you've got about 8 other trees around your house that could come down at any moment, destroy your house, and you would be cpmpletely powerless to stop any of it. It was by the grace of God that the first tree that fell, fell the way it did. Had it fallen in the opposite direction it would have taken out our living room.
Surprisingly, I wasn't effected emotionally as much as I thought I would have been. I was scared, but at the same time I had an unexplainable peace in my heart. I knew people were praying and that added so much comfort you wouldn't even believe! I had a really dear friend of mine send me a text message that said "
remember to run to the Name of the Lord its a strong tower". That offered so much peace, because it was absolute
confirmation to what I felt the Lord impressing on my spirit. So I ran to Him, and I am 100 percent sure that that is what allowed me to feel such a peace in the middle of a situation so terrible.I feel really blessed that things weren't any worse than they were. I also have a greater compassion for the people South of us that had everything destroyed. I was so thankful that it was just one room and a small section of our house that was damaged. On top of that, I was so very grateful for the many of our friends that came and helped us clear the tree that came down in the front, and for the friends who offered to help. My sincerest thanks to every one of them!!