I Was Hit By A Hurricane
Moving On After The Punch
I was hit by a hurricane. Her name was Sally. Let me tell you, a punch like that will get your attention. I felt it.
This is not an exaggeration, nor am I speaking figuratively. This is 100% for real, hit by an actual hurricane. My house was in the direct path of the eye of Hurricane Sally, September 16, 2020. The storm rolled into town and it was like my house had a bullseye painted on it.
Our family lives in northern Indiana, and after many years of hard work, and saving, and a heaping dose of God’s favor, we were able to purchase our dream vacation home down south in Gulf Shores, AL. The slogan there is “Small Town, Big Beach”, and we love everything about it. When I got word of the direct hit, I knew I had to make the fifteen-hour drive to check things out. Even though I would later discover I didn’t do a very good job of preparing, I had an overwhelming sense of duty that I needed to be there. After grabbing a pick up truck, packing some clothes, and loading a case of water, I was on my way.
As is customary with vacation homes, we gave ours a name - Soli Deo Gloria, which means “To God’s Glory Alone”. We had big plans for the home, not just to be a second home for us, but for it to be a place of refuge and healing and ministry to people who would stay there. We had the belief that people could relax, re-fuel, read, pray, fellowship, and appreciate the amazing sights and sounds of God’s Creation that encircled the property. We later found out the previous owners had the exact same goals, and in fact, they prayed for us (the buyers) long before we ever met. It seemed fitting that the Lord in His providence had connected us.
Making the 900-mile drive, I had lots of time on my hands. Before I told anyone else what was going on, I did something I often do when I have a lot of windshield time: I posted on social media that I would pray for people if they would send me their prayer requests. This always surprises and impacts me on how many people respond. Sure, my friends participate, but also people I barely know, and people who might not have any relationship with the Lord at all. It would seem almost anyone will take a free prayer if they can get one. And what an honor it is for us to pray for others on their behalf.
As I drove and prayed, I also began to do some thinking. Sometimes when I pray and think, I do so out loud. I asked God “How can I tell this hurricane story to bring glory to You, and not make it about me?” I wanted to give testimony to God’s goodness and His sovereignty, no matter what conditions awaited me upon arrival. I was determined to keep worshiping Him, even though I didn’t know what I would find.
I soon began to get pictures and videos sent to me from some of my neighbors. It was not good. Actually, it was major damage and destruction. Sally dumped massive amounts of rain and came ashore moving at only 2 mph, but packing 100+ mph winds. She was ferocious and she stayed for a long time. The result? A big chunk of my roof came off pouring 20” of water into the home. To make things even more painful, “ground zero” was the section right above our master bedroom. This room was one of our treasured areas of the house. It was our refuge and our comfort. And it was now, destroyed. In fact, our house was nearly a total loss. Another of our most loved parts of the house wasn’t in the house at all. It was a ten-mile body of water called Little Lagoon which served as our backyard. The property also had a boathouse and a private dock with boat lift. So, of course, we purchased our very first boat. We bought the boat in July. Only a few short weeks later, courtesy of Sally, I found my boat, removed from its lift, and lovingly delivered to my neighbor’s house, three doors down, sitting in their driveway. For those of you don’t know, boats travel better over water than they do over boat docks, trees, debris, and gravel roads.
What is there to be thankful for in a time like this? How do you have a thankful mindset when you look around and see bad stuff happening everywhere? I think you must consciously choose to do so. I saw a quote somewhere “Disappointments are inevitable. Misery is optional”. This is worth exploring. Life will disappoint us. If you’ve been alive long enough to learn how to read this, I’m betting you’ve experienced it. And so we can’t choose how and when the disappointment will come. But, we can choose our response. The circumstances that hit us, we cannot control. Our reaction to the circumstances, we can control.
I’m thankful that my family was not there when the storm hit. The storm chaser inside of me has always wanted to ride out a big storm, but if we had been there, it would not have turned out well. I’m thankful for the memories we made there literally six days earlier with many of our family. We had a few of our kids and grandkids with us. We created precious memories together.
The house, the lagoon, and the location, all intertwined together to create a place of beauty, peace, and safety. In a moment, it all turned into a place of destruction.
Yet, I believe, and I declare, God is still sovereign.
On my initial trip, I mentioned I didn’t prepare very well. As I approached Gulf Shores with just a few hours to go, I stopped to fuel up the truck. My regular gas station pit stop had yellow tape wrapped all around the property. It was closed. I drove on to quickly find out gas was out nearly everywhere. And any place that was open had hundreds of cars and angry people fighting to get gas. The fortunate thing for me, was since I was driving a diesel pickup, I was able to sneak into a truck stop and into the tractor-trailer section, get my diesel and be on my way.
As I finally rolled into town with 900 miles behind me, I also realized all restaurants were closed, there was no gas, or lights, or power, or hotels on the island. I should have prepared better. I was able to find a Target that had limited access, so I stopped in to see what food options were in stock. After walking through the dimly lit grocery aisles, I left armed with peanut butter, pop tarts, and crackers. Everything I need.
I made it to the house with just a few hours of daylight to spare. My main purpose for this trip was to gather pictures and videos for the upcoming insurance claim which I was sure we would need. I figured I would gather my data and then find a bedroom in the house to camp out. But with no power, water damage everywhere, and the roof missing, I soon realized it wasn’t safe. To be more precise, after I fell down the stairs, by myself, in the dark, with no food, water, or power, I realized it wasn’t safe. So I headed back to Indiana.
Because I’m active on social media, I began to think about what I would share and how I would share it. I could share the story in a way to make people feel sorry for me. I could share in a way where I would prop myself up as a man to be admired, full of determination, and grit. Or I could have fun with it. I chose fun.
I posted a picture of my boat in the neighbor’s yard with the caption “Hurricane Sally free boat delivery service”. It was funny.
Perhaps too often we choose to tell our stories in a way that emphasizes misery or pity when instead, we could find some fun.
Because I chose fun, because I shared this boat photo, an interesting chain of events began to unfold. On Facebook, I received a message from a couple I hadn’t seen or talked to in thirty years. We attended church together up until I was in Junior High, but that was our last contact.
They told me they too loved Gulf Shores, in fact, they too had a home there. Not only that, but their condo was only a few miles from my house. They said, “No one is there right now, so if you need a place to use as your base camp, you can use ours indefinitely free of charge”. Wow! Is God sovereign? You bet. Is He provider? He sure is.
On my next trip down to Gulf Shores, just a few days later I stopped at Dean and Jan’s house (which just so happens to be right on the way), we were able to have a nice visit, catch up on each other’s lives, and then I was on my way.
For perspective, remember on my first trip, I couldn’t even find a nasty, run-down motel to stay at. Now, for this return trip, I was given a condo with an ocean view, on the same stretch of beach as our house, for free. What a tremendous blessing. I give thanks to Jehovah Jireh (Provider).
Would I have found lodging if I hadn’t shared the boat picture? Maybe. But, I believe God honors us when we persevere. He is writing our story. We can go along with the plotline. Or we can fight it. Like a seed, every day we are being watered. Every day, we are becoming something. Even when we are tested, even when we are punched in the face, we can choose to let our story be written. There is amazing freedom we can experience when we let that happen.
And people notice.
On my second, extended trip one of my neighbors said to me “You seem to have a good attitude about everything”. Do you know what that is? That is an open door for me to tell him why.
It’s not positivity. It’s not good vibes. It’s not good thoughts. It’s a knowledge of what my foundation is, more specifically Who my foundation is. It’s a belief in the Lord God who is my Cornerstone.
In the end, we can re-build the house. We can even make improvements. Maybe, just maybe, God let this storm pass through His hands and into my life, so I could tell others about my faith in Him.
Doug Hood