I thank the Lord that we here in Lancaster County have generally been free from many of these tragic events. However we have lived through some of them. Earthquakes have hit here over the years, but fortunately they have all been minor - so far. We have had tornados, some destructive. We've had several within a few miles of our house. In the last couple of years we have had two major gas explosions, both within a few blocks of our home. They both caused major destruction.
Hurricanes and tropical storms have often caused major destruction locally. In 1972 Hurricane Agnes stalled over us and dumped about 9 inches of rain throughout the day. Bridges were swept away. Homes were flooded. River rescues were made. Because of the unfortunate way our house was built, we have always had water problems. We do have a sump pump which helps - when we have electricity. But during Agnes we were forced to bail water by the bucket full until power was restored. Wet basement but not the destruction that others had.
More recently, in 2015, Tropical Storm Lee visited us and dumped 8 to 15 inches in the area. mostly throughout the night Then during the night our power went out. So for hours my wife and I took turns emptying buckets of water out of our sump pump pit until finally power was restored about daybreak. It was a long but not an exciting night.
Then a few months ago a surprise storm settled right over us and dumped about 5 inches of rain in a very short time. Folks living just a few miles from us received nothing. Some local bridges were washed out. This time water came in the west side of our basement where we have no pump. That was very unusual and there was nothing we could do about it. Fortunately, nothing important was ruined. Over several days we used a wet vac and numerous fans to clean and dry it up. That event was a real surprise. I don't need surprises like that.
Then Friday a week ago, they were predicting rain, but nothing very serious. About 2 pm I was watching a program on television when they broke in with urgent news. Heavy rain was falling a few miles from us and major highways were shut down due to flooding. I had never heard of this happening here before. By then we were also getting some very heavy rain and other areas were getting more. Many back roads were also closing and there was major flooding in the Mt Joy, Manheim and Lititz areas.
As it turns out, about 8 to 12 inches fell, and unlike Agnes, this happened in just two to three hours. Agnes was most of the day. The television began to show pictures of flooding, damage and rescues. One showed a woman being rescued from her flooded car in front of a well known restaurant in Mt. Joy on the main street. That street looked like a river as the water kept rising. Others showed folks sadly looking on as their mobile homes and houses began to flood. It was unbelievable to watch.
We were safe at home with power to allow the pump to keep the two inches we received under control. But we were concerned about our family members. Our oldest son had to drive home from Baltimore. He said the rain was brutal. Our youngest son had to make two trips to Messiah College to move his daughter into her dorm. He also drove through terrible rain and then had to make alternate plans to get home that evening when many of the major roads were flooded.
My middle son and grandson went grocery shopping and had no trouble going. But when they tried to return they faced terrible traffic and found most of the north/south streets in Lititz were now closed due to flooding. They finally found one street that they could still get through to get home. It closed minutes later. They live on a hill north of town but they found their street to be a river. Their youngest son had to come home from Lebanon Valley after his afternoon classes and everywhere he went, roads were closed. Finally he was able to go east to reach Schaefferstown and then he came south on 501. He normally travels 322 but that was closed because a major bridge had washed out. and the road had buckled. He had to take a longer route each day to and from college until the road and bridge were rebuilt. Fortunately their oldest son had come home from Penn State before the storm hit.
But, thank the Lord, all of our family was safe and none of us had any major damage.
One of the things that has changed cover the years is all the coverage of storms. Now we can sit at our tv or computer and watch the storms approach on radar. We can hear the predictions and watch the changes. II guess that in one way that is good, but I must admit that at times it is hard on my nerves to sit and watch the storms, especially when there are tornado and severe storm warnings being shown in our area. It is so sad when you hope they suddenly move in another direction to spare you and probably affect somebody else ... I guess not a Christian response. And we probably don't think to pray for those who will be affected.
But these weather storms are much like the storms of life. They are unpredictable, difficult to live with, and at times quite scary. But with the storms of life we can put our trust in the One who controls them, knowing that our lives are really in His hands.
The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
Refrain:
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A weary land, a weary land;
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
A shade by day, defense by night,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes afright,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
The raging storms may round us beat,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
We'll never leave our safe Retreat,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Be Thou our Helper ever near,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
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