Again grateful

While we haven't had an official on-site report of how our house fared, we are encouraged by the news coming from the Algiers community. Some who stayed behind have said that the roads are passable. While lots of limbs are down, few trees fell. I imagine that if the remaining trees withstood K, then they would have handled Gustav well. We even heard that the power is back for the River side of General Meyer, which is the area where our house sits. The earliest we'll return is Thursday if all the news is still favorable.

I'm so thankful for God's mercy on our city this time. The emotions were real and unexpected as we had to relive our "Katrina experience" on the weekend of its third anniversary. As we were driving north, my mind was swirling with all that could or could not happen. For me, evacuation (and its emotions) is similar to natural childbirth ... there's preparation (mental and physical), there's lots of waiting, there's surprises, there's highs, there's lows, there's support people, and there's a result that somehow glorifies God. Gustav's "labor" wasn't nearly has horrific as Katrina. These evacuation experiences require hard work, patience, mental strength and discipline, and a certain surrender of "life as I know it" to Him. It has caused me to realign my priorities in so many ways. I'm actually grateful to have to walk through this again.

In case you're interested, Doug has posted a couple times on our church's hurricane blog. You may enjoy hearing his perspective too. The blog was set up initially in the aftermath of Katrina to connect our members with each other once we realized we'd be displaced for awhile. Since then, it has become information central on the work teams that God has sent our way to help rebuild lives in New Orleans.

Again, thanks for your prayers for our family, our community, and our city.