Nashville Tennessee Flood 2010

Wow! What a week in my life. My oldest son Matt and my beautiful daughter in law Maggie, on Sunday May 2, lost most of their earthly possessions to the Nashville flood of 2010. We communicated back and forth all that day as the waters rose until I received the tearful call from Maggie that their home was 4 to 5 feet underwater. From that time on we lost most communication. They were taken in by a neighbor as ways up the hill from their home along with their two dogs and about 20 other families and their pets. No power, little food to go around, and no way out of the sub-division they all live in. This was just the beginning of people giving and helping. Families who were not effected, housing, feeding, and consoling those who had lost everything. Monday morning, when the water had begun to go down, Matt and Maggie, the dogs, their friends Brittany and Steven, their dog and cat, and one other couple (whose car had been spared) began the journey to try and get to Maggie's parents house about 20 miles away in Franklin. The adventure took them 3 hours. The relief, when I knew they were finally safe at the Cornwall's, was overwhelming. The tears flowed once again. I am so thankful that Matt has Maggie's parents there in Nashville. I know they love Matt like a son. (They also took Mark and me into their home during all of this so we could all be together).
My journey to Nashville began early Tuesday morning. It was the longest trip to Nashville ever - even though I made it in record time. When I finally arrived at their home I was in shock at what I saw.

out my car window upon arrival

Maggie's mom, Ann, had tried to prepare me but, there were no words to describe what I saw or the emotion that went through me. And finally, I was able to hug my son. We both knew we would break down when we saw each other. We did and it was good for both of us.

We spent the week cleaning up, salvaging what we could, ripping out drywall, running generators and fans, bleaching....the list goes on. The beautiful part of this has been the people who have stepped up to help. Friends have showed up in droves from work, school, and church, Maggie's students and their parents, the Cornwall's neighbors, Ann's tennis girls, complete strangers.
All offering to do anything from cleaning to bringing food. Restaurants have provided food at what has become known as our own little ground zero. Neighbors not affected by the water walked the streets with their children giving out bagels and coffee in the morning, cold drinks and snacks in the afternoon. Lowe's  dropped off pallets of water. Of course it's Nashville so local musicians came down to provide live music to lift spirits and lend us all a chance to have fun in the midst of chaos. The list goes on and on. It is simply beautiful. As Scott said, "it is really just people 'doing church'."

M and M in front of 'the pile'

So I am a tired and weary traveler, but I am happy all at the same time. My kids are safe. They are handling this in a way that impresses me and makes me extremely proud.

We had much to smile about really!

A bonus was that I got to spend a lot of time with Matt. We were on house patrol, keeping fans and generators going. I learned to change oil, drain water logged gas, and spray starter fluid in power tools, generators, and lawn equipment. I cleaned every tool that could be salvaged in his garage. We had a little 'party' every time we could get a piece of drowned equipment to start - ie. lawn mower, weed whacker, table saw. The bonus is that now I actually know what each tool is and what it does.
Once again I am reminded at how I have been blessed by a good and very loving God. When I left for Nashville and again when I returned home the first song that played on shuffle on my iPhone was a song by the late Rich Mullins. My phone has not shuffled to this song in a very long time so it sure felt like God was in charge of the shuffle. The song was "bound to come some trouble" based on John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

There's bound to come some trouble to your life

But that ain't nothing to be afraid of
There's bound to come some trouble to your life
But that ain't no reason to fear
I know there's bound to come some trouble to your life
But reach out to Jesus, hold on tight
He's been there before and He knows what it's like
You'll find He's there.
Thank you to all of our friends back home in Michigan who have prayed for us and who have sent gift cards and money. It is so greatly appreciated.

~bekuyps