Hurricane Weather

Life has been full and hectic around here on many levels, especially with Hurricane Matthew wreaking havoc on the east coast!  Imagine the east coast of Florida being pie crust and you run your fingers down it as if you are fluting the crust and right where you give that smoothness a pinch...well, that little jutting out, in real life, that bit of a tweak is called Merritt Island.  Home of my daughter and her family!!  It was the spot that the hurricane was always headed directly towards and the Governor was saying things like....Evacuate NOW!  If you don't, you will be killed!  Leave at once!  If you stay behind we cannot rescue you!  If you watched the weather channel hours on end, as we did, you heard what we heard and saw what we saw.

Yes...they actually debated if they should ride it out (which caused Hubby great concern) but did pack up and evacuate...after picking up Scott's Mother from a facility in Melbourne to take with them. 

I was so thankful to see that little eastward turn that caused MrMatt to veer and took Merritt Island off the bulls-eye target!  Whew! 

They are home...house intact...power on and running water.  Water did get in her little studio so she is cleaning the mold/mildew that had quickly formed...neighbors are helping neighbors pick up tree limbs and debris.  Joyful that they are all safe in their cul-de-sac.

There was a close call on a huge beautiful 25' tree, located between Jeanee's and a neighbor, that was uprooted.  No harm was done to her home except it did wipe the fence out.  Damage was done to the neighbors home.  I think on the roof.

I find it fascinating to look at this tree.

It has such a small root system!  Sort of fans out and is next to nothing.  Jeanee said that it can't make deep roots because a couple of feet down is the base of cockle shells which en masse ends up like concrete.  Here is the fallen tree...

small roots...no depth to soil base.

small roots

I got to thinking of all the palm trees and wondered why they weren't all uprooted as they look so vulnerable. 

Hurricane winds.

Hurricane winds.

**************************

and then I found this story and enjoyed it and wanted to share the reasoning behind the strength of the Palm Tree....

Psalm 92 says that the righteous will flourish like a palm tree (Ps. 92:12). In his talk, Joel described a time he visited a community in the aftermath of a hurricane. Many houses were destroyed. Several trees were uprooted and broken to pieces. But Joel noticed the palm trees were still standing.

He asked someone how the palm trees survived the storm. A person knowledgeable about trees told him that palm trees are designed to bend. When the storms come, palm trees can bend quite a lot, even to the point of being horizontal to the ground. But they don’t break.

During the storm, you might look at the palm tree flattened against the ground and think it’s a goner. But when the storm dies down, the palm tree is able to stand upright again.

Also, scientists have found when the storm is over and the palm tree stands upright again, the palm tree is actually stronger than it was before the storm. It comes back from the storm better and stronger than ever.

What a beautiful metaphor for how God made us. We live in a world where storms hit. Sometimes the storms are difficult or impossible to avoid. Sometimes the storms are difficult or impossible to explain. But God made us like the palm tree, able to withstand even the most difficult storms. If you’re alive, it means that God isn’t through with you yet. And when the storm is over, we are able to recover and stand upright again, even stronger than before.
                                                                                                 
                                                                  --by Joshua Hook  here

Palm Trees lining road to Laie Hawaiian Temple

Psalms 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree...

**********

Interesting to contemplate...Palm Sunday.  Hmmmm.  Need to think about that connection.  Or is there one?  Don't know.