Bring the Rain Page 60

I was in Louisiana moving my freshman into her dorm at LSU when the flooding hit so I've been looking at it from ground zero...but to look at this picture of my home town, Denham Springs, brings back the tears.  The loss and the overwhelming amount of work to be done makes you want to sit down and weep-and we did.  All of the homes that filled with water that day literally represent families, lifestyles and the essence of daily life.  These homesteads are now filled with watermarks where the water once stood, a smell that says filth was here, and visible destruction that indicates our helplessness sometimes.  

 My heart fell to my feet as I watched my parents entire life-everything that represents them; their hard earned work which established their 56 year-old homestead, become surrounded with water. Their home, my childhood home, was evacuated but I snuck back in to keep watch.  I sat a few items down on a windowsill and went to peek out the front door to see where the water level was.  As I turned back around to get those items I literally stepped in the water just as it began to seep in.  I gasped and begin to cry.  

Their home isn't JUST a home that flooded… it is A WAY OF LIFE and represents every single nuance that created my siblings and I that became swallowed in that flood.  I looked around the house in disbelief at the mess that we created in order to salvage their belongings; all the furniture was elevated, the piano, the grandfather clock, the dining table where we have celebrated every holiday, every birthday, every big event in our large family-elevated.  Loving my parents as I do and knowing my mother as I do -because I'm a perfectionist, just like her, I became astounded at the destruction-zone their home had become and the water had not even done any damage yet. I was preliminarily stumped as to what to do.  There seems to be a moment in time when you find there is simply nothing you can do. As we watched the water continue to rise I can’t tell you how many times I stopped in my tracks and desperately searched my mind and prayed to heaven for a way to keep the water out of their house.  If I could have found a way I would have.  I honestly would have done anything! There simply was no way!  This is the point that shows us who we are.

The water has crept off leaving brown markings on trees and walls indicating where it once stood.  Through this I have learned that I have parents who are rock solid and steadfast in their stance of faith and who are the hardest workers I've ever known. Actually this is simply a confirmation because I knew this already.  I watched as my 81 year-old daddy began working to protect his home and to this day he literally hasn’t stopped.  My family never misses church so I joined my 82 year-old mother as she led a family Bible study on that 1^st Sunday morning; all of us gathering around to listen to her wisdom through the Word of God.  We wore work clothes instead of church clothes and wore faces that said “I’m tired and devastated but I’m ready to work all day again today for this family”.... and day after day we did- from sun up till sun down! 

With a proud but grieving heart I've learned that I have brothers that will do anything for our family, sisters- in-law who love unconditionally, nephews and nieces who will put others before themselves, and sisters who stand by their parents even when their homes have been flooded as well.  I've learned that life can quickly become devastating but we can salvage it.  This is what South Louisiana is doing right now.  This is what my parents and siblings and entire extended family are doing right now.  The smallest kindness helps. A stranger gave me a cold bottle of water and I was blessed beyond measure in that moment.  Please do one small thing for Louisiana and you have done one small kindness for my family.  Like Jesus said:   "What you do for the least of my brothers you have done for me".

End Note: 

My family & their homes may be water-logged but they are safe.  The Lord that brings the rains still reigns in our hearts and with my parents setting the lead, we kept that 1st Sabbath holy and honored him in the midst of it all.  This is who my family is and I am overwhelmed that God has blessed each of us with this kind of family legacy and this kind of faith that my heart wants to burst and my tears rain down. 

This writing is in honor of my entire family

and scripture below
 is in honor of my brother, John!

You are my hero!

Always have been-but you’ve always known that!

RvH

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name;

You are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

And when you pass through the rivers,

They will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

You will not be burned;

The flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord, your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Isaiah 43: 1-3

My family members who were affected by the flood:

Parents –home flooded.

Brother, Jimmy-home flooded

Brother, John-home flooded

Sister, Gloria-home flooded

Sister, Rachel-home flooded

Nephew, Ben-home flooded
Niece, Linzee-home flooded

Niece, Jennifer-Salon flooded

Song Recommendation:

Jesus, Bring the Rain

By: MercyMe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8HgAVenbUU

Song Recommendation: 
O The Blood
By: Gateway Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxeVrMC1qVY

 Pray for my family and ALL of Louisiana!