Last week I told you about how our summer house was surrounded by a massive flood. Thomas and I went down there this weekend to check out the damages left behind.
It’s interesting how these things affect you. We watched the media reports on how the flood progressed, recognizing the houses from the area. That is, we recognized the rooftops, as that was all that remained visible. The rest was covered by the raging waters.
One of the nearest houses has been mowed down by a landslide. Thankfully, the people were evacuated and no-one got hurt, but the house was seemingly damaged beyond repair. People lost their houses. Some lost their livelihood. We didn’t pay much attention to the state of our cabin, but we were deeply concerned with the situation of our neighbors.
It was quiet in the car as we drove South. We didn’t know what to expect. Our neighbor had told us that the water was receding and that the road was re-opened. He had continually updated us with pictures from the area, but it was impossible to say if the water had entered the house or not. We just had to wait and see.
I don’t deal well with waiting.
Do you? I do the waiting quietly even worse. Just sayin’. I’m prone to action. To rushing in. To making things happen. I hate waiting.
We got there after dark, forcing us to wait until the next morning to figure out the damage. Of course. The house was cold and damp as the flood had left us without electricity for days. We emptied the fridge within minutes and threw the rotten food out of the house. It was unexpectedly cold outside, approximately 41 oF or 5 oC. We fell asleep almost immediately, although with the cold it felt more like hibernating. (Yeah, I know. I’m not much of a hiking indoors person…!)
We woke up early, eager to start investigating.
The marks on the house and trees showed us that the river had gone up 4 meters, equaling 13 ft. 1 ½ in.. There has never been registered such a massive flooding in this area before.
Construction materials were spread all over the property. The wood logs that had been neatly stacked for the winter, where scattered and soaked. Our neighbor waded into the river to save our little boat. It had come in handy for them to cross the river while the road was under water. Debris was hanging from the trees in the woods, showing us how the water had wrecked everything in its path.
We returned to the house, scared and anxious to find out the state of the flooring. Thomas drilled a few holes and used the borrowed equipment to measure the humidity. It was dry. As we continued examining, it became clear that the waters had stopped approximately 3”, that is 8 cm, under our wooden floors. Our house was safe.
Imagine the waters rising more than 13 ft. and then suddenly stopping 3” from the wooden beams!
We ventured back outdoors to check the annex.
The old house that came with the cabin holds two bedrooms and a storage area. It was completely soaked. The waters had risen approximately 1 meter, that is 3’ 3”, making sure that lawn mowers, power tools and materials were beyond repair.
We want to go ahead and clear everything out and figure out what to do with the building, but we can’t. Once again we have to wait. The insurance company will send an appraiser to calculate the damages and instruct us on how to proceed. Considering the massive destruction this area has experienced our tiny insurance claim may take weeks. I would not have it any other way, though; I am pleased that our neighbors who have suffered greater damages than we have, take priority.
Surrounded by chaos and debris, there’s nothing we can do for the time being but wait. You would think that I would appreciate the peace and quiet. After all, I can’t do anything about this, so I might as well relax, right?
Wrong.
Now that I can’t, I just want to go ahead and clean up this place. I really don’t do well with waiting.
My Father knows this all too well.
It’s the story of our relationship. However, he seems to be running on a different time schedule than I am. His is more like a thousand years equal a day kind of schedule. And then, suddenly, he brings forth what belongs to eternity, calling to life what death had hidden. His ways are always better than mine.
I have different areas in my life where I wait.
I wait on the Lord for the salvation of loved ones. For revelation. For healing. I pray for growth. For the expansion of my territory. More than anything, I pray for my children. For the continuous grace of God to be on generations to come.
I pray that I will grow in love. In mercy. In compassion.
Perhaps I should add patience to the list.