As Hurricane Florence bears down upon the coast, we here in Tidewater (Virginia) are offering up sighs of relief as the storm has turned away from us. Our hearts and prayers are with everyone in the storm’s path in North Carolina & South Carolina: BE SAFE!
Our family is grateful that my sis, Cindy, and her husband, Mark, made it safely out of Wilmington (NC) to stay with us in Williamsburg. Although they left their home as secure as possible, who knows what will happen to it? ‘You can’t take it (all) with you’ frenetically packing a few suitcases from a home filled with a lifetime’s memorables, but I was touched that what Cindy considered most important to take with her included two of Papa’s Bibles. (The ones he wrote in are extra precious considering how long ago he lost the use of his arms & hands before becoming a full bedfast quadriplegic.)
Cindy & Mark (a sunnier day @ Wrightsville Beach, NC)
To be sure, our local forecast calls for rain, rain (& more rain) the next few days, but we are (so very) grateful to be out of the target path of gale force winds and mini-tornadoes that come with hurricanes. While we wait (& it pours rain) here’s a thought on a card Cindy sent a few years ago during my caregiving gig for my parents that’s still relevant today.
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Vivian Greene
Come what may, how can we dance in whatever storms face us today? How do we find our grooves when it’s pouring down rain?
During the demanding all-nighters of my care-giving gig, prayer helped. Sure, I was still exhausted, but a peaceful type of exhaustion because prayer changed ME.
Challenges (like massive storms) come in all shapes & sizes, but we don’t have to carry them alone – God is with us, in us, here to help carry the load.
Doesn’t mean our challenges disappear, but we can learn to dance (despite them) even in pouring down rain. To have joy, be joy, and know that we are intrinsically loved by God no matter what happens.
As we learn to dance in the rain, we can help others with their dance grooves.
My brother calls my album collection “the Academy of Ancient ’80s Music.” So many great bands with get-up-off-your-seat grooves and others with reflective chill vibes. UB40 combined both of those grooves & vibes. I was blessed to see them perform at university in the early 1980s and still enjoy their tunes (in high frequency rotation)
“Desert Sand” – one of the songs from their Promises & Lies album – required multiple replays this morning:
“Just because it can’t touch you
Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care
For every life that’s lit with love
Many more are racked with pain
You talk to me of sunshine
When it’s pouring down with rain..” (UB40)
Here’s a YouTube video of the song to have a listen & find your grooves “when it’s pouring down with rain.”
“It’s a long black night, good people …share your light make a flower grow in the desert sand.” (UB40)
Even when it’s pouring down with rain.
grace, peace & rainy day (Light) grooves
Virginia : )
p.s. Many thanks for all the love & concern from friends afar (& near.) Please pray for everyone in the path of this storm!!
Roses in the Rubble 
Thank you and I love dancing..
Learning to dance in the rain is a journey of a lifetime (& UB40 grooves help!) Much love, Carol-Jo – stay dry & safe!!! 💦☔️🎼😎🎼☔️💦
God bless you and your loved ones, Virginia! Praying for all ❤
Thanks so much for your prayers, Patty. My sis said she really felt Christ’s peace from our prayers as she ’stormified’ everything @ her office & home before evacuating to be with us. Between watching hurricane updates, we managed to squeeze in fun & laughs today (God graciously dispensing Holy Hilarity to lighten the load.) Hugs! 🙏💦🙏💨🙏🤗🙏🌷
You’re in my prayers…please stay safe and dry! 💜💜
Thanks for your prayers – we’re so grateful to be out of the gale-force wind zones, but coastal flooding is still a big challenge for our area (especially Norfolk & Va. Beach.) Blessings & hugs! 🙏💨💦🤗💦💨🙏
Hi Virginia, I always love your positivity and it is absolutely infectious. Your outlook on life, despite in the face of an impending storm keeps us all hopeful and cheered up. Please take care and your are blessed in the kindness and love you share.
GH – mutual feelings back at YOU for all the infectious humor you share that daily lifts our spirits (better to deal with the scary storms of our lives by squeezing in laughs that lighten the load.) Blessings & hugs! 🌷🤗🌷🤪🌷🤗🌷
Keep safe, we are on the same boat here with typhoon Ompong.
You stay safe, too, Arlene – that Typhoon looks terribly menacing!!! Prayers & blogging hugs! 🌊💨🙏🤗🙏💜🙏
Thanks!
So glad your family is safe. The uncertainty of so many is heartbreaking. Diane
Thanks for your prayers, Diane. My sister is still with us here in Williamsburg because several rivers are still flooding the interstate highways around Wilmington. Looks like it might be another 4 to 5 days til roads are clear. Much love! 🙏💦🙏🤗🙏💦
Im from the Raleigh area…let us know how things are for your sister when she returns…Roads still too flooded to get back there?
My sis flew back on Wednesday into the Wilmington airport (her office opened back up yesterday) but my brother-in-law will try to drive back Sunday or Monday from meetings in D.C. They have friends who made it back driving using the WAZE app? (Evidently GPS didn’t route around flooding, but WAZE did, although 2 hour trip was 6 hours?) Can’t believe the rivers are still flooding! Blessings & prayers for NC recovery…
Wow, yes. I have heard similar stories – and i have also used WAZE…for traffic jams and road blocks – so helpful for real time road problems apparently! Prayers for your family – Wilmington hit so hard!