Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Storm

As I sit in my truck in the driveway waiting for the hurricane to end I realize just how small and insignificant we all are. I managed to get eleven stalls cleaned before I was no longer able to get to the manure pile. At 7:30 PM we lost power, until then I sat on my stool in front of my TV, across from Gabriel and Tim's stalls all day, terrified to a stand still – I prayed non stop through it all. Earlier I had climbed up on the roof with a cinder block to hold down the metal roofing over Pink's stall as it banged in the wind – a band aid – Every gust of wind made my heart pound, adrenaline shot through me, I am so afraid for my horses. I could not leave them – I would not leave them. After a while the cinder block didn't work anymore. I was not going up there again. Had it only been me I could have crawled into a hole and pulled a blanket over my head, but I have all these lives in my care.
I know there are so many people in harms way. I tried to pray for them too – butmostly I just prayed for us.
The human race thinks they are superior. Leaders of nations think they are important, that the things they do and say are so spectacular. But you know what? All it takes is a natural disaster and poof!All they ever were – gone.
At Luke 21:25-26 Jesus described this kind of storm. I don't know exactly if he meant it this way, but he surely described it perfectly to me – look it up in your own bible.
We are just tiny bits of dust – our lives are so short, we waste so much time on meaningless crap.
I was so scared. If something awful happened like the roof blowing off, there was no place to run to – no where to hide. In that screaming vortex of a storm, I was alone – but not really alone. I prayed for “the peace of Jehovah that excels all thought”, when I finally allowed myself to except that peace, I was less terrified. The horses were all so quiet, so calm. I prayed that they too would have that peace. I believe my prayers were answered. Hour after hour the storm raged on. Whenever there wa a lull I would run to the front barn to check and care for Rose and Belle. Though Belle is extremely claustrophobic and is a perpetual stall walker, all was snug and tight over there. We all endured.
My friend Catherine Marguerite we owns Belle and is my helper, broke her ankle three weeks ago, prayed for us and kept in touch, but we just needed the storm to be over. No one could help us – except the creator of the universe – and he did.
Ironically it was Tim, Solomon and Gabriel who physically comforted me. I am a “mare person” and have never really identified much with the boys, but both Solomon and Tim wrapped their necks around me when they could and gently nudged me and Gabriel who is generally obnoxious and noisy, planted the softest loving kiss square on my face. They all said “all is well, we are here with you, don't be afraid”.
I hate to be afraid. Hate to have no control. I spend too much time being afraid. One of these days my adrenals are just going to meet down and that will be the end of Nina – if it's possible to die of fear, I probably will.
And then – just like that – it was over. Looking for damage, I found none. Not a tree down, not a shingle blown off. A few light things had blown around a bit, but all was well. The earth had been washed clean. Wet things sparkled and the mud was quite excessive, but out dear old barn held up. We were safe.
In my prayers I said if this barn held together during this I would stop whining about how we need our own farm and know that this was where we needed to stay until otherwise directed.
And so, here we stay. We need to do a great deal of work to shore things up for another winter here. I don't think the rotting sills will survive another 31 inches of snow on the roof. But w have the best well in the word. No matter what – we have water!
I pray for all those everywhere who were effected by this storm, but it should be a wake up call for all of us that we are but specks of dust in the wind. Make your instant in time mean something. May Jehovah's will take place in your lives -
Nina


I love heroes. Those amazing coast guard people willing to go out in that raging storm to pluck those ship wreck survivors from the ocean in a helicopter were some of the bravest people I've ever seen. The greatest thing that any person can do is risk or give their own lives to save another. That is what Jesus himself did. I believe these are very, very special people. I am grateful that there are such ones. I know they will be blessed.