Harvey is finally gone, but his presence will be felt for
years to come. Right now, as I type this
I can hear the helicopters in the background.
A sound that I have grown all too accustomed to in the last five
days. My home was not flooded and my car
was left untouched, but my heart will forever be changed. In some ways, I wish I could wipe this
terrible memory from my mind. I wish I
could forget the sleepless nights and the moments when I thought my home was
about to be ripped apart. I will never
forget the alarms going off every 15-20 minutes and the sound of the
helicopters flying so close while looking for people who were stranded in the
homes. The news has been a constant 24-hour stream of people who are hurting
and broken.
Harvey brought out a new level of fear to everyone he came
in contact with. He was everywhere and
he was all consuming. You couldn’t turn
on a television or look out a window without being reminded of his
presence. He left no stone unturned and
no life untouched. He did his best to
destroy this city and left scars that may never fully heal.
The emotions I have experienced in these past few days are
like nothing I have ever gone through.
Text conversations with groups of friends and co-workers have been a
source of laughter, joy, sorrow, tears, and anger. I have cried at the bad news and rejoiced at
the good. Felt completely helpless in
some moments and empowered in others.
The needs are so great that sometimes I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve set down to pray and the words are just
not there. In a moment when I should be
praying the most, I have felt so overwhelmed with the need that I just sat in
silence and ask the Lord to search my heart.
I have had feelings of guilt because I was “one of the lucky ones”
followed by moments of intense sadness because people I love were not so
lucky. I think about a dear friend who
just started her life with her new husband and has lost almost everything. I cannot begin to imagine what she is going
through, but I will stand next to her during the process and love her with
everything in me.
Harvey may have made a gallant effort to destroy Houston
physically, but he has not destroyed her spiritually. The saying is correct, “Don’t mess with
Texas!” We are strong. We are courageous. And we are one! I can honestly say that of all the emotions I
have experienced, pride has been one of the strongest. I have never been so proud to be a Houstonian
as I am today. We have taken care of our
own and have fought back. Harvey took
his best shot at us, and it was a big one, but we will have the final say! We have come together regardless of race,
religion, or background and wrapped our arms around each other and helped one
another wade through the storm.
As the song from Les Misérables goes,
“even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” Seeing the sunlight
come pouring through my windows brought tears to my eyes. I felt like fresh
life was being breathed into my tired, weary soul. I look around a city that was
nearly destroyed and I see all that we have accomplished in
such a short amount of time. Homes that are being put back together, families
being reunited, donation centers overflowing, employers offering additional PTO
to encourage people to help! My heart swells just
thinking about it all. Some might say our county
was being torn about by racial wars just a few short weeks ago, but no! Here we
are in the most culturally diverse city in this great country and we are
showing the rest of the world what it is supposed to look like! A black officer
carrying two white children, a white man carrying a Hispanic female and her
child, old helping young, Christian helping Muslim, needs being met by those
who are available. The world is watching us Houston and we are showing them
what love looks like.
I pray that as we go forward we don’t forget these moments when
the only thing that matter is helping the human in front of you. I pray that
every water stained wall and debris lined street would remind us of God’s grace
and mercy. I pray that as long as the reminders of Harvey’s destruction remain,
so would the reminders of our unity during these dark days. Tonight I can’t
help but think, the stars at night, are big and bright, DEEP IN THE HEART OF
TEXAS!
Isaiah
43:2
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
