over the weekend.

i don't even know how to start this post.
bear with me as i try to put this weekend into words.

for the past couple of weeks in oklahoma, there have been wildfires burning all over the state.
on saturday night, my family and i were evacuated from the place i've called home for 25 years.

when the sheriff knocked on our door, we scrambled as fast as we could to gather our important belongings and leave.
i don't remember a whole lot of those moments. i remember looking at my family and their faces reflected mine: sad, worried, and helpless.

we grabbed what we could and went to my grandma's house. the road we live on was backed up with other residents also driving away from their homes, not sure what they'll return to, if they'll return to anything at all.

we waited at my grandma's house for what seemed like forever. i made the stupid mistake of looking at facebook to see if anyone i knew had been evacuated. that's when comments/statuses reading "the elks lodge is gone" and "terrible flames at tim's tires" started showing up on other peoples' pages. my heart broke. i told my parents what i was reading and they bolted out the door to walmart.

i will never forget those moments alone in my grandma's house. i prayed the most heartbreaking prayers. i begged and pleaded with God. i told Him that whatever happens, i trust Him, though i may not understand. 

after waiting for almost 20 minutes, i finally called my parents to see what was going on.

our house was fine. the shop was fine. the elks lodge was fine. i didn't have time to be angry at the rumors; i was just relieved that the fire hadn't got our home and property yet.

an hour later, my family and i made another trip to walmart to see how much the fire had progressed. from what we could tell, it was far enough to the south that they were letting those who lived on our road go back home. pulling into the driveway and seeing our home and shop untouched by the flames -- that can't be put into words.

we finally went to sleep at 3:30 am. waking up the next morning in my own bed was an answered prayer. having coffee with my mama in the living room, talking about the night before, was an answered prayer. eating lunch together with my family in our kitchen was an answered prayer.

other people weren't so fortunate. some lost absolutely everything. it was bittersweet: here i am, rejoicing that i have a home, while five miles down the road, others are staring at ashes that were once their home. it broke my heart.

i learned some valuable lessons this weekend. my perspective is changed. i am changed. when your faith is tested, it grows stronger. i realized that the blessing of still having our home means that i have clothes to give to those who only have the clothes on their backs right now. my bedroom that i deemed "way too small" just the day before wasn't so small after all.

please pray for the fire victims. hug your family. count your blessings. take nothing for granted.

 around 6:00 pm, saturday. it wasn't headed our way because the wind was blowing it away from us.

 saturday, 6:00 pm. another fire close by. in all, i counted 5 fires.

the things i grabbed. while sitting at my grandma's house, i remembered things i forgot. tears came when mama realized she forgot to grab her wedding album. daddy didn't grab any shirts. bubba forgot to grab underwear. that one kinda made us chuckle. // the things i donated. it is almost freeing to clean out a closet, knowing that it can put a smile on someone's face who just suffered such a huge loss. 

God has His hand in everything. this was the weekend we were going on vacation, but my family decided not to go. had we been gone, we would have not known a thing or got boomer out of the house.

God is good, all the time.


5 tidbits of wisdom i learned this weekend:
- always have a plan and a list of items to grab.
- never, ever, ever trust facebook.
- God is always there, even in the midst of the storm.
- possessions can be replaced, lives cannot.
- count your blessings, no matter how small they seem.

4 things i learned about myself over the weekend:
- it was easy to give away a lot of clothes.  
- when rumors swirl about things like i mentioned before, i go into defense mode. don't mess with my family.
- sometimes it's better if i say nothing.
- even in that tough situation, i found the good.

3 things i'm looking forward to this week:
- starting another book.
- making a point to be more present and aware of ALL the blessings i have.
- the possibility (though slight) of rain. Lord, please send the rain!

2 blog posts i'm currently lovin':
- this post by trevin wax.
- this post by perry noble.

1 thing i read:
"but we're gonna make it. by the grace of God, we're gonna make it. because i've got my family and i've got God, that's the way i feel about it." catherine belt, on losing her home to the fires.