Of Hurricanes and unexpected things

A few decades ago we took a vacation trip to the hills of western North Carolina, just over the border from Tennessee, and fell in love with the quaint mountain charm. The magnificent Biltmore mansion, and the charming town that was built up by the laborers of that mansion. And visited the big city of Ashville and the little folksy tourist towns like Lake Lure, and Chimney Rock. Hurricane Helene changes so much of that world with devastating flooding, cutting off roads, infrastructure, power, and cell service. Those many years ago we remember stopping at a little barbeque restaurant in Chimney Rock. Well, yesterday while scrolling social media there was a before and after picture of that little area. Sadly it looks wiped off the earth in the torrents of water.

We can never really understand the twists and turns that life throws at us, but for the people of this part of North Carolina and Tennessee we send our prayers, and our hopes for them to find a way back. In times like these we find ourselves holding on to the only certainty we really have – and that is the keeping power of our God.