The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up

This week is surprisingly a good one, that is when one considers the fact that the town I live in just went through massive flooding, when I was on vacation.  Check out these photos to get an idea of the damage. It' pretty insane. I read in one article that there was 60 billion gallons of water dropped on Chicagoland. As I said. Insane.  We had 4 feet of water in the basement.  I spent 13 hours today dragging stuff out.  We lost some memories and some stuff and a lot of carpet and drywall and we might need a new washer dryer air conditioner and furnace. But I also learned some things and have had my heart put right, and for that I thank God.


I have been reading here about a gratitude list.  And figured now is a good time to thank God for lot's of things.  

1) I thank God for getting us out of Chicago on Friday night, before we were planning and mere hours before the flood.  Now my wife and kids are with the rest of my family vacationing as they should be. 
2) I thank God for my Dad who happened to have a layover in Chicago and could hop off the flight to help me take apart the basement.
3) I thank God for this time with my Dad.
4) I thank God that there was a flight and a seat available for me the moment we drove into Denver so I could come home asap.
5) I thank God that on that flight I was able to sit next to, talk to, and pray for a woman who had just lost her sister. A 48 year old mother of 2 and grandmother of 2.
6)  I thank God for the modern conveniences I take for granted. 
7)  I thank God for all the stuff we have.
8) I thank God for the chance to clear some of that stuff out.
9) I thank God for making our time dealing with all of this headache pretty easy. We weren't here to experience the stress, when I arrived the flooding in my neighborhood had receded so that I could drive up to my door.


I also learned that no matter what you do you can't protect things or people perfectly.  Your stuff, and your kids can't be held onto too tightly.  I mean they need to be held onto tightly, your kids need to be loved, but no matter what, things will happen. When they do we all we can do is trust God. We need to trust that he is in control, that all those things I can be thankful for in this hard situation are a product of his divine intervention. I don't know what will happen to Star. This woman that I spoke to on the plane and prayed with, but I do hope she comes to know Jesus as he works in her now to draw her to himself. 




On the drive we listened to a CD my mom made for the kids, they were about family mostly, but one I really like (my adaptation) goes


All I really need is God's song in my heart, food in my belly, and love in my family.  


Amen.