Flooding Aftermath

Hello friends…this is a waterlogged Tracey reporting in…I am one weary woman.

As my heart was heavy last week for the families who experienced devastation by the power of the wind, I had no way of knowing that the power of water was about to be made most evident to my family.

On Saturday night the waters rose, like never before and right as I was gathering up the family keepsakes to throw into some suitcases and a big box the rain stopped. The forecast and even the radar indicated rain was to continue throughout the morning, day and night. But Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m. the rain stopped. A mere 25 feet from our back door.

Prior to the rain stopping we went from a “normal” Saturday night, to torrential downpours of up to eight inches and wading through hip deep water to move our horses from their flooded barn to a hastily relocated round pen. Said round pen being made up of eight foot steel panels that my hubby carried from the back field to our front yard in a lightening storm and driving rain.

Our front yard was a river as water flowed towards the back and our back yard was a lake as the tributaries far behind our property reached swollen river proportions!

I had to call 911 to get a rescue team out here to get our neighbors on one side out by boat, while watching various automobiles on my neighbors property on the other side slip silently under the rising waters.

I have a new understanding for voices of the past I have heard utter, “the water just rose so fast, we didn’t have time to do anything, but just find a way to get out” – I now know first hand that water…moves…fast!

I managed to take a couple photos with my iphone during the deluge, the remaining photos here are of the aftermath.

I am praising the Lord that our home was spared, and I am well aware of others who have lost lives and homes in the storms that have raged across the United States recently. My little patch of land and the remaining scars are few and I am very grateful for that.

I encourage each of us to consider what steps our own families should take to help those who have experienced loss in the face of the recent weather disasters. Many of those don’t have a computer or a camera to post their aftermath…if seeing these photo’s gives you an inkling of compassion and empathy I invite you to multiply that for those precious others and act on it – give of your time, talent and treasure to help them.

neighbors furniture in our back field

refuse stuck in our four foot fence