Ike Took a Hike...

Ike has finally taken a hike but not before exacting an estimated $8 billion worth of damage to the Gulf Coast area. Praise God that none of that damage occurred to my home, however; my heart hurts for those who were on the receiving end of the devastation. We only lost power for about three hours and our cable, phone and internet were down for most of the day yesterday, but things are back to normal in the Hodges' house today. Well... as normal as they ever are! Normal meaning Wyatt was up early, ready to go, Megan is still sleeping (it is only 9:20am) and I am nursing a big ole cup of coffee while working on the computer:).

This was my second hurricane to ride out - the first being Hurricane Frederick in 1979 when it hit Mobile, AL. We lived about 60 miles or so north of Mobile. I remember loading up the next day or so in the car with my parents as we drove to Mobile to survey the damage. Those images are still with me. I imagine that they match what Galveston looks like today and will look like for several weeks to come. I was awestruck then at the power of water and wind and I am awestruck again. With age, however, comes experience and at eight years old I didn't get what the devastation meant. These days I completely get it and how I am so grateful this morning that we were spared. The parts of Katy and west Houston that I drove through yesterday have nothing in comparison with Galveston. There are fallen trees, awnings that have been ripped off, debris littering the roadways (but small debris - no boats!), broken fences, broken roofs, but, as far as I know, all life was spared on this end of town.

In some ways I think Ike is a testimony to the power of prayer - he was expected to be so much larger than he was, so much more devastating - forecasters were expecting him to reach a category 3 or a category 4 before he reached landfall. He never reached a category three and downgraded to a category 1 as he began moving inland. The storm surge was not as high as was expected either. Each of those things are what many throughout the area were praying specifically for. It's as if the large, unseen hand of God reached down right in front of Ike and slowed him down - not allowing him to gain strength or to be as devastating as once forecasted!

As I posted before...
Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save, He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

He was definitely with us, He saved us and in the middle of the night, when the storm was raging so very loudly, He quieted me with His love.