Last week, an unexpected thunderstorm blew through the north Houston area. It’s been so scorching in Texas the last couple of weeks, and like every year, I’d swear that it’s worse this year.
I do what I always like to do during a thunderstorm, step out on the back porch and watch it roll in until lightning invariably encourages me to step inside.
However, this storm was more intense than most, with wind gusts reaching up to 97 mph in some areas. Predictably, the power went out in the house. What surprised us though, is that it wouldn’t come on for the next 48 hours. To add insult to injury, we were also dealing with multiple issues that our kids were experiencing, which included a stomach bug and vomiting in the dark.
It was a rough night.
Driving around the next day, damage from the storm looked a lot more like a hurricane had come through north Houston. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power. I didn’t even realize until much later that some friends of ours had a tree land in their kitchen.
After a day with no power, my wife insisted we get a hotel. I was really hesitant at first, but as soon as we got settled in, I was relieved to be in a much more comfortable situation.
While exposure to the elements can become a very real problem, it’s safe to say that our situation could be labeled a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. But what struck me about this moment and what made me decide to want to write about it was how big of a deal it felt while we were in that moment. Yet what we experienced isn’t even a portion of what people experience when going through a major disaster.
Houston has experienced some major disasters in the 12 years we’ve lived here. I’ve seen and helped homeowners that I didn’t know when their home was flooded because of Harvey. We’ve had hurricanes and multiple huge floods. These were major events that had a major impact on the homeowners.
We turn on the news every day and witness significant disasters and events that are life changing for people. We’re so used to it that we don’t usually stop to consider what those people are going through.
While we know this intellectually, we sometimes emotionally forget to remember the blessings we are surrounded by every day.
So the lesson to be learned may be that while you are striving for more in your life each day, don’t forget to recognize the things that you are blessed with. Its likely more than you would think to realize, but it’s there all the same. Don’t wait to notice it only when it’s gone.
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