The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~Mohandas Gandhi
My heart goes out to all those who have lost so much and are now trying to put the pieces of their lives back together following Hurricane Ike. We now have our power back, but many in the greater Houston area and Galveston, as well as its surrounding areas, still do not. Only now have we been able to really see the devastation caused by Ike.
I live in The Woodlands, Texas, which is about 75 miles north of Galveston. Hurricane Ike did quite a bit of damage in our area even though we are more inland. Our house was not hit by a tree, which was a major concern since we have four large trees in our back yard of which two are huge Pine trees. We also have a large Sweet Gum tree in our front yard which gave me some concern since it is only a few feet from our house. The only thing we lost was our back fence, and some minor damage to our side garden. Neither of which will be difficult to remedy.
We had neighbors that lost so much. One house had five trees that fell on top of it, and the house is beyond repair. Another house, where a woman and daughter decided to sleep in a front room to be more safe, had a tree fall directly into that room. Neither were hurt, but the shock must have been enormous. Trees came down on boats and vehicles. One neighbor just finished remodeling her kitchen when a huge tree fell through the roof and damaged both the kitchen and living room. We saw one house after another damaged, and realized that so many homes were hit with these enormous trees we have in our area. Nature has shown her strength to us, and I am deeply humbled by it.
I was immensely touched and impressed that so many people were in high spirits following the storm. Everyone, including the ones who lost so much, were thankful for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. I saw one sign that read, “Landscaped by Ike,” and another sign that humorously read, “Yard of the Month.” I smiled when I read them because I realized that people somehow kept their sense of humor in the midst of all the destruction and tears. I spoke with many of my neighbors, and most were thankful because they knew it could have been so much worse. Some were not so fortunate. The pain of losing a life is immense. The pain of many who lost literally everything they own is devastating. This will take time to heal and, it will take time to restore things to normal once again.
For years as we walked through the neighborhood streets, I would comment to my husband that I could never understand where all the people are. No one ever was outside. We rarely ever saw people walking along the streets or working in their yards. The shades were always pulled down, and even those who were homemakers or home-schooled their children were nowhere to be seen. This hurricane, as deadly as it was, changed some of that. Our streets and neighborhood came together as we helped each other out. After living in this neighborhood for eleven years, and our current street for six years, I have come to better know our neighbors for the first time. My husband jokingly commented seeing some neighbors down the street for the very first time ever! I realized once again that our post-modern society has truly lost so much. Consumerism has stolen our souls and our connection to each other. I can only pray that the friendships that have been formed and the comradeship that has been fostered among people working together following this hurricane will grow into lasting relationships. My heart is filled with gratitude to have seen the hearts of people as they worked alongside one another, and lifted each other up.
Please pray for all those that need our prayers. Be generous with your prayers since there are many needs to be addressed.
“If you elevate the world around you, then you elevate yourself.” ~Sigmund, Carl and Alfred
Thank you to all my blogger friends whom I have come to cherish, and thank you to all our other friends and family that have prayed for us. I am thankful for each one of you!
