Blessings in Disguise

It was six years yesterday that Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast as a category three hurricane.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think my family and I would be involved in such a physical and emotional disaster.  I'm a California girl, remember?  We have earthquakes in California but never hurricanes.  If you ask those closest to me, they will tell you my memory is pretty bad. I attribute it to "Mama Overload" but when it comes to the days leading up to Katrina and the many days that followed, my recollections are crystal clear.

We had just moved to Mississippi 5 months earlier for me to start a new job at Keesler Medical Center.  It was our second choice for an assignment out of two choices but the job was supposed to be better for my career progression so it became our first choice.  At that time my parents had made their third of four moves to follow Kurt and me to our various AF assignments.  They always made it known that it was for the kids not us. And that was ok with us. We were still blessed to have them. We had settled in nicely and gotten used to the small community of Ocean Springs and Biloxi even if the mall seemed to be the size of a Target store.  I had the wallpaper on the walls and Kurt and Hunter enjoyed riding the riding lawn mower in the mean humidity.

We went through the motions a couple times earlier that summer with hurricane warnings but before we realized it, Hurricane Katrina had even the locals concerned.  Even so, we weren't too terribly worried.  We had signed up for flood, wind, and hail insurance despite the fact the builders in the area assured us we were not in a flood zone. We had just learned we would be expecting our third child a few weeks before.  When Katrina hit, I was 12 weeks pregnant.  I remember hurrying to finish packing before we were to evacuate so I could get in one last jog around the block.  Kurt mowed the lawn so he wouldn't have to do it after we returned.  Boy, we had NO clue!

The aftermath of Katrina was nothing we could of imagined in our wildest deams.  Our cars and homes were deemed totaled due to 6 feet of salt water that they were submerged in and the mold that quickly filled them.  Most of our belongings were ruined. 

This photo was taken by one of our neighbors who chose not to evacuate and sheltered in the attic with their children.  They took this photo when the water started to recede.

We were excited about our new house.  If you look closely near the hanging picture you can see the water line in the kitchen.

The damage was unbelieveable.  My parents' piano had been moved across the house where it was blocking the front door.

 

The photo below was taken with some good friends of ours, the Pittards, who were also an AF family and lived across the street.  Darren was an OB-GYN resident and their house suffered similar damage.  Surprisingly, they were relocated to Lackland AFB as well and found a home in the same neighborhood once again.  This photo is so telling and filled with emotion.

These group of men were from Palm Valley Church where we had visited when we lived in Phoenix, Arizona.  They got word of our situation from some friends.  They drove out and helped Kurt with the house after the kids and I left.  We were one of several families that they provided assistance to in the Gulf Coast area.  It was a real blessing for Kurt to see their familiar faces and have them pray for us.

We quickly were reminded what is truly important in life and it's wasn't any THING.  To make a long story short, I was evacuated to California to stay with Kurt's parents while the AF decided what job to send me next.  It was a stressful time with my parents staying in MS, Kurt following us a few weeks later, and the kids staying with me in a house that was not at all kid proof.  The battle with the insuance companies was a daily thing but we dared not complain.  We were among the few with insurance who could someday expect a check AND we had an outpour of love and support from family and friends.  They were more than gracious with helping us get back on our feet.  It turned out, we were sent back to San Antonio, Texas where I chose to take a job in AF Recruiting Service.  Things started to fall into place and before we knew it Ethan was born and we were moving into a new home with my parents two doors down.  And the rest is history... 

So many of us know that God works in mysterious ways but in the midst of our turmoil we can't see anything good every coming of the situation.  I have to admit, I had my doubts.  Six years later, I see the experience as a true blessing in the way it has shaped our lives.  Let me explain... The first time we lived in Texas we had some great friends, the Wiggams, who invited us to visit their church called Oak Hills.  We didn't go but once and it was shortly before our move to Arizona but it left an impression on us- so much that we decided to go back when we moved back.  The Wiggams have moved away but we have found a wonderful group of friends we call family and the lessons and pastors have touched our lives when it mattered most.  Perhaps the biggest blessing is our Ethan.  While we never knew what his sex or name would be before he was born, God knew. And He knew so much more.  He knew Ethan would have struggles in his life with Autism and he would need help brought to him by intense therapy.  Therapies that are not found in small cities like Ocean Springs and Biloxi Mississippi.  God guided our path straight to San Antonio where Ethan would have the best chance at a bright future.  And a bright future he now has.  Another valuable lesson we have learned is that we are entitled to anything- not our clothes, our homes, or any of our possessions.  It's a gift that any time can be taken away.

Each year at Katrina's anniversary I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude but I also feel a sense of unworthiness compared to the thousands of good people who were not as fortunate to have the means to pick up the pieces to their homes and lives and move on as easily.  Do they view Hurricane Katrina as the blessing that we do?