I took down my Christmas decorations and tree today, and it got me thinking about where most of our life is spent. The hype for Christmas is real and long. If you read my last post, you know I had a hard time getting into the hype, but most of the country did not. And then, just like that, Christmas is over and we are preparing to ring in a new year. So as much as we look forward to different seasons, we are quickly reminded it's not where we spend most of our lives.

Our lives are lived in the plains and not the hills and valleys. As a Texan, I can tell you that the plains can be pretty boring. We go to the valley to retreat or rest. We go to the hill or mountain top to celebrate and rejoice. But these are not the places we spend most of our lives. Most of our lives are spent on a journey through the plains. A walk on flatland with not much around to look at.

But I think this is where faithfulness grows. In the plains is where trusting God is imperative. We will never reach the hill or the valley without walking through the plains. We encounter people on this journey through the plains, and God has purpose in that. We go through routines in the plains. These routines that seem meaningless and/or mundane, yes even these have a purpose, if only we will ask God what it is. In the plains is where we rejoice in hope.

It’s been a year (plus a few months) since our lives got turned upside down as a result of the terrible flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. I will never forget the day so watching the rain come down relentlessly. It just kept coming down. Harder at times, light at others. Everyday I was searching for hope. A small break in the rain that might be an indicator that it would all come to an end soon. While looking for hope, everyday new people were evacuating their flooded homes. The scenes were unbelievable. I felt so bad for these people while I was still in a dry house. I was glued to the news and learned how to read a flood map in no time. All of my family and friends come to mind and so I check Facebook regularly to be sure all are safe. Others are also checking on me. Since I was at my parents house and not my own home, I constantly check in with neighbors to know of the status of my own home. Thankfully, being in a second floor unit, I had little to worry about. I talk with both of my grandparents as they have to evacuate their home. Meanwhile, between the ongoing news cast and looking out the window to check water levels, my mom, dad, and I somehow stayed busy. This may or may not have included my mom dying my hair and making a delicious crawfish casserole. News comes that the water level at the dam by my parents house is unsafe. There is talk about releasing the water which would mean for sure flooding at my parents house. Now we start talking evacuation plans. We even got out of the neighborhood to check routes. Through much back and forth conversation, we decided to stay. We prepare the house for water by moving things upstairs and putting heavy things on paint cans. We do this “just in case”.

I am awaken the next day early, by my dad notifying me that the toilet will soon be out of order. The water had filled the garage and was inches from the back door. Turns out the “just in case” was the right move. We make more preparations to minimize the damage and it’s overwhelming. What needs to go upstairs or be moved? No time to salvage everything. And now we start discussing an evacuation. We can’t stay here with the water in the house. I call up to check on the neighbors as they are elderly. They tell me they have a friend with a boat nearby. I call him and he tells me he will come. The neighbors however say they aren’t leaving. We get in touch with Parker and he says he can get to us, or at least close. I tell everyone to pack a bag. I am now standing at the front door, waiting for a boat. Nothing comes. I call back and he says he’s coming. Meanwhile my mom is still moving things so as to save them. I wait some more. Still nothing. My anxiety level is rising. We have to get out now or we may be stuck here for a long time.

I am getting very impatient and finally decide I’m just going to walk out. I ask my dad to check the water level in the street first. I needed to know if I would be walking or swimming. It’s probably about knee deep or a bit more, which for me is about my waist. I yell in the house that I’m leaving and off I go. Trash bag in tow with my belongings. I get to the next block and have a decision to make. Left takes me to the front gate about a quarter of a mile away, which I think is closed anyway. My other option is to go right and climb over the six foot wall that surrounds the neighborhood. Some neighbors are standing outside and I ask them, “Do you think I can climb that wall?” They said no but I was determined anyway. I go for it. Parker has been sitting at the gas station nearby for at least forty-five minutes. I ask another neighbor for a ladder and manage to get over the wall that way. Parker just hops right over and goes to get my mom and dad and hopefully the neighbors. Once over the wall I witness something incredible. Strangers showing up with boats, canoes, kayaks, and large trucks to help whoever needs it. I get to the truck and go back to check on the rest. My mom gets over and we also get my brother’s dog over which was no easy task. Parker had also convinced the neighbors to come with him. Helping them over the wall was scary, but by God’s grace, we did it. And not without the help from some strangers.

Now we are seven people and three dogs piled in Parker’s truck. We get in touch with Stuart to see if he can get his dog. He is on the other side of Buffalo Bayou though, so that would prove to be very difficult. The neighbors find a friend from church to stay with. We dropped them off and then were able to meet Stuart to get Tucker (his dog). We head to Parker’s house in Bellaire where my parents were going to stay. There is a pizza shop on the way so we stop in to get something to eat and take a breath. It was about 2:00 now and our day started around 7:30. I tell my parents they can stay with me. Parker takes us to my house where we set up camp. My dad had to sleep on the couch and my mom on an air mattress. Already, in some parts of Houston, people are tearing sheetrock out of their homes, including at my grandpas house. We have no mode of transportation and I feel useless. Stuart comes and picks up my dad to take him to Hearne to get the truck and a large fan from a friend as we will need this when clean up at their house starts. I catch a ride with them and meet up with Shea to go help my grandpa. Everything is a mess. His house had also flooded the previous year in April (tax day flood). It was a long day but I really got to see a community come together.

The next day my parents went to Galveston where they would stay while their house was restored. While we wait for the water to recede from my parents’ house, I move to action. A friend has a spare car and let’s me use it. I partner with my church to help our city. So much happened in just a few days, I can’t quite remember the details. I employ a team of workers to start demo on my parent’s house almost a week after we evacuated. It was overwhelming, obviously mostly for my parents. The help we had no doubt made the difference. Two days later I am back to work, attempting to start a new year, with new students, at a new school. Watching our city work together toward a common goal was beautiful. I have no doubt many people came to know the Lord through this great expression of love and service.

The Lord brought me to Ezekiel 37 in the few moments I had to process through all that was happening. The Israelites had lost hope. They say their “bones are dried up.” (verse 11) But the Lord speaks life into them. He gives vivid imagery regarding how He will raise them from the grave. In math, zero times a million is still zero. That is not how God does math though. He can take nothing and multiply it to greater things. He is glorified in this and we are reminded of His great glory. I will never forget the first ray of sunshine we saw after the rains had stopped. It was all over social media. It’s all anyone wanted to talk about. It was not immediate, but it was just at the right time because that’s how God does things. This sunshine was the hope I had been looking for a week earlier. But it wasn’t the sun that was the hope. The real hope was in the Son, the Son of God and Son of man who paid it all that we may live.

Thank you Jesus. I hope to never experience another “Harvey”, but I also acknowledge that God was good before, during and after the storm and will continue to be through the next. May He always be glorified.

Ezekiel 37:11-14
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

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