More Than A Second In Time

Clearly, it has been a very long time since a new post has appeared on this blog. Actually, it has been nearly a year, many seconds in time. To put it mildly, it has been a year from hell. There are not enough words in the English language, nor space in a blog to ever begin to explain it. So, I will not even try. But, as it always does, time marches on and so shall I. Another new beginning, again.

As Hurricane Irene is now, thankfully, in our rear view mirror, another lesson has been learned. I learned that I never want to go through that again. Although, there are many who have suffered great loss with this storm, we were relatively lucky. Perhaps, the only real damage was that to our minds having endured the fear of losing a lifetime of belongings and many of the memories associated with them. Of course, they were really only "things", and we are fortunate enough to still be alive and well. But, 51 years is a long time, and sometimes "things" mean way more than just that. I always said that I could never imagine having to quickly decide what things I would take with me if I ever had to quickly evacuate my home for any reason. Well, I don't have to imagine it anymore because we had to do just that.

Standing in a house looking at a lifetime of belongings, knowing that only what could fit into a car after two people and two dogs was not an easy decision. Of course, there are the obvious things like photo albums, paper documents,  and valuables such as jewelry and electronics. Random clothing was thrown into suitcases, food, water, medication and pet essentials were next. And that was about it. No more room in the car, and a million reminders of memories of the past had to be left behind. No family treasures, elementary school artwork, yearbooks, birthday cards and special gifts selected with great care. No vacation momento or resin angel collections or little clay figurines made by a 9 year old. And the list goes on. All left behind not knowing if they would ever be seen again. I pictured everything just floating away with the tide as the angry sea would recede after the damage had been done. But, that is not how the story would end this time. By the grace of  Heaven above, we were spared from what could have been a terrible scene and a heartbreaking turn of events.

There comes a time in every life when we must surrender our life and the control we have over it to God. We must admit that we are not in charge, and we must look to HIM with faith and hope that he hears our prayers. As he has given us life, he is also the one to take it away. So, for now we humbly thank him for his love and protection from the storm. And thanks, God, for watching over the blankies and my craft stuff. We really appreciate it! :)