Thursday, September 14, 2017

e-vac-u-ees

"I hope you evacuees can come to church with us tomorrow," I said to my great niece.
"What's an evacuee?"
And so we learned a new word, one they will never forget.
After a little storm prep ourselves, for a storm that didn't amount 
to much after all, we got a text saying our nephew, wife, 
four girls, MIL and pet rabbit were coming up to our house to seek shelter.
We were happy to have them here.

But it was a bit stressful texting back and forth with my sister as they
packed up important stuff, wrapped photo albums in plastic, 
boarded up their house and left to shelter at their nearby church, 
not knowing what they'd find when they returned. 
We prayed much.

Nephew was anxious to get back to check on their house, farm and horse, so
left when the worst was over. As soon as we had washed their sheets and towels,
our niece and her family arrived. They had left before the storm hit, but because of road
conditions had to overnight on the way up. The decision to leave had been
very difficult and you could see the exhaustion and strain on their faces,
as they too chose what to take and what to leave, 
and then drove through driving rain and wind.
We're thankful everyone was safe, minimal damage was done 
to their homes and the power is coming back on.
It was a bonus family time for us and the cousins.
We have much to thank God for, 
while there are others hurting to pray for.

...Therefore (we) have hope.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end,
They are new every morning. 

15 comments:

  1. What a blessing for evacuees to have a warm and welcoming home waiting for them at the end of a long, challenging trip. I am sure that you loved being able to support your family in both tangible and spiritual ways. Lots of prayers prayed I am sure.

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  2. Love this post, of family knowing they can text and come! True hospitality!

    Our family is doing well. They may get their power back this weekend. We are hoping so. No damage to their houses, either!

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  3. Thankful all is well. :)

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  4. Your home was a welcome haven for your family. A great practice of hospitality. I'm glad the damage in Florida was minimal, yet even minimal can be life-altering. How my heart aches for some of those on the little Caribbean Islands.

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  5. So glad to hear that their home was a safe place to return to...I am sure they were blessed beyond blessed to be able to stay with you. OK...maybe I'm dense (or maybe I haven't looked on Instagram) but why is the flag in the bathtub? Part of storm prep, I am betting.

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    1. Storm recovery. Neglected to bring it in so drying out in patriotic fashion. :-)

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  6. Glad to hear all are safe and minimal damage. My sister just got her power back on yesterday evening which meant no air conditioning in Florida! They stayed--no damage, but had a lot of yard clean up to do.

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  7. What a blessing to be able to give a place of refuge to those in need. Blessings to you and yours!

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  8. You and your husband must have been a wonderful blessing to the evacuees! So hard to need to leave your home and property, but to have a warm and loving "home away from home" had to have been comforting.

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  9. What a blessing you were to those storm-tossed evacuees. Must have been so difficult for everyone, but a warm welcome and a place to stay must have been such a relief.

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  10. Thank God everyone is ok- possessions can always be replaced, but people cannot be. Have a great day!

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  11. Thank you for your kind comments on my last blog post. I truly appreciated them!

    I'm glad to hear that your family did not suffer much damage from the hurricane and that you had special time with them while they waited out the storm.

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  12. What a touching post, Dotsie. I can feel their emotions as you've described them; Americans have been through an awful lot this year. That last photo was a good one. What state do your relatives live in? Texas or Florida? I guess maybe Florida. I'm SO glad to read that their homes just had minimal damage, and so very glad they had a welcoming place to stay with you and the Gardener.

    Blessings to all of you!

    Denise

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  13. We had evacuees in church with us, too! I am so thankful it ended up not being as bad as predicted. Thankful your family was safe!

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  14. Thankful. Thankful. Amen and amen.

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