When the storms come, let go and let God

There was a time where it seemed like every movie preview had someone saying the following statement, “a storm is heading this way.”

In reality, we always have a storm on our horizon. A storm can literally be the weather or something big and bad happening in our life. How we handle those storms are the lessons we build on for the next one that will eventually show up on our radar. 

A few weeks ago we had Hurricane Isaias closing in our area. On Friday, Oct. 9, I was looking at the clock near my side of the bed and could not help but have that deja vu feeling. It was the same feeling I had on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2024. 

That was the night that we knew Hurricane Helene was coming. And like Isaias, Helene was predicted to hit us in the early morning hours and on the right side of the storm – also known as the dirty side – which normally brings heavier rainfall, stronger winds and tornado threats.

Helene started affecting us after midnight on Friday, Sept. 27. A few hours before that, I turned out the light praying that the storm would not be as bad as advertised. I closed my eyes and hope to sleep through the night. 

The howling of the wind woke me up around 12:30 a.m. I had never heard wind like that in this area before. Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., the power flickered off and on every few minutes. From what the weatherman said, Helene was almost out of our area and we still had power. I was feeling good. Just a few more minutes and we would be in the clear. Then the power flickered a few times before going out and staying out.

I could barely make out the ceiling fan blades as its spinning slowed down, eventually coming to a complete stop. From 5 a.m. on, all I heard was the wind. I looked out the window but could not see anything until the sun came up around 7 a.m. 

Daylight revealed what Helene had left behind. Standing from my driveway, I could see a wall of trees down in two different directions. Traffic was passing my house only to turn around and pass me again because their path was blocked.

It took hours before the roads were cleared and traffic could resume like normal. A ride around town showed the destruction. Trees and power lines down all over the place. Grocery stores that were emptied before the storm were packed with people looking for anything, especially non-perishable items.

For me, since my wife Jill had just had her latest round of chemotherapy because of her breast cancer she had surgery on earlier in 2024, I was concerned with how it was affecting her. She was tired and just wanted to rest in an air conditioning house. Well, that’s a problem when the power was out, and the early diagnosis was it was going to take days – not hours – to be restored. Thankfully, my uncle in Milledgeville had power and we were able to make his house our home for the next three days. 

As the days went by, power was restored, while the clean up continued. These were the things I thought about before I turned off my bedside light knowing that Isaias was going to hit us during the night. I was expecting the storm to wake me up. Instead, the next thing I knew it was about 6:30 a.m. I laid in bed listening and heard nothing but vehicles pasting my house as they drove toward or away from town.

My wife said the wind picked up some during the night, but not enough to wake me up. Daylight revealed that everything was where it was the evening before. Sometimes in life we can build up things and dread what is about to happen.

I once saw a picture that had the words Let Go and Let God. I am reminded of Luke 8:22-25. Jesus and his disciples are in a boat on a lake. Jesus went to sleep and a storm of wind came upon them and the boat was filling up with water. They were in trouble so they woke up Jesus. He rebuked the storm and everything calmed down. He then asked his disciples one question, “Where is your faith?” 

Before something happens, we need to turn it over to God and let him take control. After all, the next storm is brewing. It is on its way. The question is, how are we going to handle the storms?