Dry Land

Sunday afternoon I went down to the beach for about an hour.  The wind was crazy, it was chilly and foggy.  There was no one else on the beach which was perfect for me.  I just needed a few minutes to relax and mentally deal with the mess that was going on back home in Nashville.  When it comes to finding a relaxing place where I can see the works of God a secluded beach can't be beat, no matter the weather.  I had just spent an hour at the condo crying while Kirby was at the store.  We couldn't get home but I needed to get out of that room. 

I was watching the seagulls and other birds dive down into the water, despite it being choppy and rough as hell.  I looked up at the birds and thought, "How do they even fly in this wind?"  Bingo.  How do those birds fly against 30mph winds?  Because God made them to be able.  Then I looked down at the tide that was rolling in closer and closer to my chair--there was probably 15 feet of beach left with the tide coming in so far.  I scooted my things back about 5 feet.  The waves just kept coming.  The sand in Destin is some of the most beautiful in the world.  White, soft, perfect.  It took thousands of years to create that perfect sand and beautiful beach.  Even on a gloomy, cold, windy, foggy day it was beautiful.  It was different than I'd ever seen that beach and if you had spent good money to be there for vacation it would tend to be depressing.  But it was relaxing and beautiful to me.

I went back to the condo and we went to dinner, not knowing if that was going to be the last few hours of relaxation we'd get for a while.  It wasn't very relaxing, but we still had a good time.  We got back to the condo and did some laundry, packed up and watched the coverage on TV and online.  We couldn't stop looking at pictures, and we didn't want to talk about what our options were when we got home.  On the one hand we wanted to be prepared for whatever we found when we came home but we also didn't want to needlessly worry.  From what we were seeing in pictures and the last report we got from the shop earlier that morning, though, there wasn't much to be optimistic about.  I spent most of the night wrapped up in a blanket on the patio just praying.

I've found in my experience that in the times where I am afraid and uncertain is when I get the most clarity.  It pushes you to think about all the things you don't want to.  I had started to grow tired and frustrated with work and all the challenges we'd had so far this year, although in the last two weeks things were beginning to look better.  I always thought my home would be the most important thing to me, but then I started thinking about just where we'd be without the shop.  We both work there.  ALL of our money and savings and credit is tied up there.  We have three other employees with wives and children to support.  Even knowing that so many others in Nashville would be in the same situation as we would didn't help.  We would have literally been out of business.  The long nights and hard work would have been for nothing.  All the time fixing up the new building would have gone down the drain.  We would have literally lost everything, including possibly our home eventually without an income to make the payments.  Losing the shop WAS a bigger deal than losing our home.  We have family here to stay with.  Nothing in our home couldn't be replaced over time, with little effort.  Try replacing a $3500 lift that we got for $700 at an auction, or a $15,000 custom built engine.

At 8:00 this morning my parents called.  They had gotten to the shop.  Neither one had wanted to go but knew they needed to.  They didn't want to see what was likely waiting for them, either.  My Dad stood to loose thousands of dollars, too, on the car of his that we are working on.  I was in the shower while Kirby talked to Dad.  I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation and I knew the news was good news.  Better than good.  I honestly don't have the words to describe how greatful we are and how amazed we are at the outcome.  Our neighbors at the shop were gutting their building today after taking on 2 feet of water.  Our parking lot is destroyed from the raging river that was flowing in front of it less than 24 hours ago.  The only thing we lost?  A box of business cards that were sitting on the floor in a closet.  Even the wood chest that Kirby's grandfather built trunk, full of old pictures and an irreplaceable newspaper article about his late grandfather survived unscathed. 

It is nothing short of a miracle.  Thanks be to God for saving us, both our business and our house!  Thanks to the Big Guy, also, for keeping the rest of our family here safe and mostly dry!  The damage to Kirby's sister's house was minimal, all things considered and they remained safe even though they could not get out of their neighborhood.  Thanks for opening our eyes to all we have, and still have, and would have still had even if the worst had happened.  One of the best parts of marriage is that you have each other--in the good times as well as the bad.  Sort of fitting that we were out of town for a wedding, celebrating the union of two people who truly love and support each other, while at the same time were able to test and stregnthen our vows trhough this great challenge.  Many thanks to my parents as well, and Tommy, who came out this morning and took care of everything that did need to be cleaned up by lunch time today and got the shop back on its feet and rolling.  Tommy even worked on the cars this afternoon!  God is truly great, and next time I feel challenged I'll remember the seagulls and why they can fly in that wind.