Today is September 21st . Most of us have dates we will never forget – a wedding, the birth of a child, or the death of a someone who is beloved. Sometimes, we remember dates because they have been significant in the life of our country – July 4th, Pearl Harbour Day and others. For many folks who live in Coastal South Carolina, September 21st , 1989 is such a day for, it was on this evening, eighteen years ago that Hurricane Hugo visited.
Is eighteen years too far removed to mark an anniversary like this? I don’t think so. We were living in Summerville at the time – 25 miles inland – and ended up with two ninety foot long leaf pines trees down in our house - with us in it! This was definitely one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Further to the north, McClellanville and its environs experienced a nineteen foot plus storm surge – the water tumbling boats, houses, and trees like dice. The church took somewhere between seven and nine feet of water – one of the water line marks is still visible if you look closely. Other marks, the ones people carry internally, are still there too if you look closely.
The folks in New Orleans will be recovering from Katrina for quite a while as will be so many others around the world who are struggling at this very moment with natural disasters of their own. So many came to help us. May God give us the wisdom and will to do the same.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in affliction – and, with the same comfort with which we ourselves have been comforted by God.” (II Cor 1:3-4)
Is eighteen years too far removed to mark an anniversary like this? I don’t think so. We were living in Summerville at the time – 25 miles inland – and ended up with two ninety foot long leaf pines trees down in our house - with us in it! This was definitely one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Further to the north, McClellanville and its environs experienced a nineteen foot plus storm surge – the water tumbling boats, houses, and trees like dice. The church took somewhere between seven and nine feet of water – one of the water line marks is still visible if you look closely. Other marks, the ones people carry internally, are still there too if you look closely.
The folks in New Orleans will be recovering from Katrina for quite a while as will be so many others around the world who are struggling at this very moment with natural disasters of their own. So many came to help us. May God give us the wisdom and will to do the same.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in affliction – and, with the same comfort with which we ourselves have been comforted by God.” (II Cor 1:3-4)
No comments:
Post a Comment