God’s Grace Shines Through The Darkness
We have lived in Florida in a suburb of Tampa since 1977. During that time, hurricanes have come and gone, but we have never suffered any serious damage. Tree limbs and brush were common and needed to be cleaned up after a storm; it was pretty minor stuff. In fact, during all that time, we only lost power for two days during Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. The storms always seemed to miss Tampa, sometimes turning just before landfall. There is even a joke or myth that Tampa has a shield that drops and prevents hurricanes from taking a direct hit.
About six years ago, we moved to a condo on the beach. The transition from living in a house to a condo took a while, but we adjusted and learned to love it. After all, the beach, with its gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, makes for a fantastic backyard.
In our condo, we have electric storm shutters. When a storm approaches, we put them down, and they cover every sliding door and window. So immediately, the condo becomes cave-like; no sunlight can get in. Two years ago, we lost power for 24 hours during Hurricane Ian. We then discovered that there was no manual way to raise our shutters. We live on the 5th floor, so with the heat and needing to go up and down the stairs, it was an interesting experience. The good news was that despite having no power, there was no damage outside in our surrounding area. The section of the beach we’re on is, without a doubt, the most beautiful on the coast in this area. It’s essentially a private beach that has no commercial activity.
Last year, Hurricane Idalia brushed the coast, and once again, we had no damage and never lost power. It seemed as though the shield was in place and working well. During both of those storms, the storm surge predicted for our area was 6-10 feet. This caused no concern because the covered garage under our building is 13 feet above sea level.
Last Week, as Helene approached, it appeared to be another storm that would brush our coast on its way to the Big Bend area of the state. For us, a storm surge of 5-8 feet was predicted, so again, we felt confident that all would be good. We lowered our shutters to wait things out as the storm got closer on Thursday. The intensity seemed more significant than the others, and that evening, we lost power at 8:30 p.m. When we woke up Friday morning, the power was still off, and we soon learned that we also had no running water. Thinking it would be back on soon, we took the stairs down to the garage and were hoping to drive to the grocery store for a few things.
Once there, we were shocked. The cars were in total disarray, scattered all over the garage and covered in mud. Imagine approx. 35-40 cars scattered like “Pick-Up-Stix. As we tried to get to our car we quickly realized that even walking was treacherous as the garage was covered in mud that made it as slick as ice. Both of us almost fell several times. When we reached the car, both front windows were down, triggered somehow when the water reached the electrical system. The car was filled with water, which poured out when I opened the doors; later that day, my neighbor and I bailed out the remaining water. Of all the cars in the garage, only one started. Another neighbor had moved his car, meaning two would start out of the entire building.
As we made our way back to the building, we realized that our huge, beautiful lobby, which had just been renovated, was also destroyed. The water had entered the lobby and reached 2-3 feet up the wall. It became clear that the predicted surge of 5-8 feet was way off. The lobby is 4 feet higher than the garage, meaning that the water really reached a height of around 20 feet.
During the day Friday, several of us, including my neighbor, assessed the situation and decided how to proceed. That afternoon, we decided to take a run at establishing water supply to the building. A pipe had broken, and we sounded out different ideas for a fix. We ultimately decided on capping off the broken line and bypassing the pumps. That meant rigging up a fix with various PVC pieces we found in the maintenance room. Our fix worked, and the building had running water, which included having toilets that flushed, an essential aspect of everyday life that we take for granted.
On Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday, we worked all day cleaning the lobby, removing furniture, tearing out sopping wet carpeting, and attempting to clear walkways. The work was hard, hot, wet, and often smelly. The core group started with two, grew to four, and eventually to six or seven. People showed up with food, water, and Gatorade. As time passed and freezers defrosted, we emptied our neighbor’s freezers, discarding spoiled food. We also did our best to keep everyone’s phones charged so contact with insurance companies and concerned friends and family was maintained as well as possible. The stairwells were unlit, which meant every trip up or down this 14-floor building meant carrying some type of a light, which made navigating the steps extremely challenging.
We are also on a barrier Island, and until yesterday, even if you were a resident with proof of ID, you could leave the island but were not allowed to return—not that most of us had a car anyway. The unique thing is that through it all, there were smiles on the dirty faces of those who came together. Friendships were made that will last a lifetime, and camaraderie now exists in the building that was never there before.
I credit God’s grace and answered prayers for everyone getting through it as well as we did. We all still have cars and other property damage to deal with, but there is a sense of calm that everything will work out. No one was injured during the storm, and there were just a few minor bumps and bruises during the cleanup.
None of us will ever take another storm lightly. More importantly, we now know that God will grant us the intellect and strength to get us through. We also have found peace in knowing that we aren’t alone and that we can and will come together even under the worst circumstances.
Some places are much worse off than we are. Some people have lost everything, and some have lost their lives. I am not writing this as a tale of woe; I am writing this to say that no matter how bad things are, God is there and will get you through.
Please take advantage of every gift you have in your life today, but don’t take any of them for granted.
