My Harvey Experience

         There's no way around: this past week was a stressful one here in Houston. As one tropical storm (Marco) started dissipating in the Gulf, another storm (Laura) was strengthening and headed for Texas and Louisiana. Forecasts on Monday and Tuesday had Houston in the dreaded "cone of uncertainty", meaning that Hurricane Laura could make landfall near Houston. After a stressful few days leading up to Wednesday night/Thursday morning, when Hurricane Laura made landfall, Houston ended up being fine. However, this meant that East Texas and West Louisiana got hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Laura. Seeing pictures of the damage from Laura in places such as Lake Charles or Cameron, LA have been absolutely devastating. I can't imagine what so many families just a few hours east of here are going through right now. My heart goes out to them and I will be praying for them as they rebuild from Hurricane Laura. 

    As Hurricane Laura was in the news this week, I was reminded that at this same time 3 years ago, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas and absolutely devastated communities across the Gulf Coast, including Houston. While I was living here in Houston during Hurricane Harvey, I was not physically in Houston when Harvey hit. Although I have documented some of my Harvey experiences in previous posts, I wanted to share my overall story and reflections from Hurricane Harvey. This will be a bit different from other posts (and possibly a bit longer, too). Without further ado, here's my story...

    It's amazing how the days we remember often start out so simple. When I woke up on August 23, 2017, it felt like an ordinary Wednesday to me. Through the first half of the day, it had mostly been a normal Wednesday. After checking my phone during lunch, I had a text message from my Mother telling me to call her when I got a chance. My heart sank upon reading it, as I had a pretty good idea of what it was about. When I called her during lunch I asked "is it what I think it is?" She replied "it's what you think it is". I was speechless: Harvey Edwin Blackstock, my Grandpa, had passed away. He was 82 years old. He had been in hospice care for a few weeks, so the news was not "shocking" per se, but it still hit me really hard knowing that he was gone and that I'd never see him again.

    My Mom informed me that the funeral would likely be the upcoming Monday (August 28th) in North Carolina. When we talked later that night to figure our flight arrangements and logistics, there was another looming issue: Hurricane Harvey was headed towards Texas - and strengthening. It was pretty clear that if I were to attend my Grandpa's funeral, I was going to have to leave Houston earlier than expected...which ended up being the next day, on Thursday night. The return flight to Houston was set for Tuesday, the day following the funeral.

    When I left my apartment the following morning, I figured I would be back in a few days. I didn't know it at the time, but I would end up being gone longer than I expected (more on that later). After a series of flights across the southeast (including stops in Pensacola and Nashville), I landed in Raleigh late that night. On Friday, my Mom and I went through my Grandpa's belongings before heading home to Virginia. Around this same time, Hurricane Harvey was officially making landfall in Texas.

    Flash forward to Sunday (August 27th), and my family headed down to North Carolina for the funeral. Amazingly, family from all over the country was able to make it, including my Sister flying in from Seattle. While I do wish the circumstances had been different, I'm grateful to God that we were all able to be together as an extended family and see each other again.

    On the day of the funeral (Monday, August 28th), photos of Hurricane Harvey's impact on Houston started surfacing across the Internet. Hurricane Harvey's impact was worse than expected; Houston was underwater. Watching the news and seeing the pictures were absolutely devastating. While I was relieved to be safe and with family (especially for the funeral), I was worried about my friends, coworkers, and everyone in Harvey's path. It was difficult knowing there was nothing I could do except pray for my friends, coworkers, and everyone that in Hurricane Harvey's path. I started worrying if my own apartment was okay or wonder when I would be able to safely return. All of this, of course, was happening with my Grandpa's funeral just a few hours away.

    The funeral went well and was a nice way of celebrating my Grandpa's life and the loving man, husband, father, and grandfather that he was. It was cool to learn more stories about him and the great man that he was. I knew that he was with the Lord now and could be reunited with Grandma again in Heaven, though it was hard knowing that he was no longer with us. 

    That night, new photos of Houston started surfacing, including ones of Hobby Airport underwater. As one can imagine, my flight that was scheduled for the next day was canceled, which meant that I went back home to Virginia with my family following the funeral. It's hard to fully explain how odd it was during those next few days. Everything in Houston was shutdown or on pause (including work), but it was business as usual in North Carolina and Virginia. As Harvey moved out of Houston, it was wonderful to read stories and see pictures of everyone coming together and help each other out with relief work. At church, everything else was put on pause to help out with families that had been impacted by Harvey across the area. It was definitely something that I wanted to be a part of, though I remained at home for the time being. 

    After being away for a week and half, I was able to safely fly back to Houston on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. When I came back, one phrase that I heard was "there is more love than water in Houston". During Harvey relief efforts, that truly was lived out. People from all over the state (and even country) came down to help out in any way possible. J.J. Watt, a Houston Texans player, raised millions of dollars. Some donated clothing and supplies, while others helped out with demoing houses. Through my Bible Study class at church, I was able to help out in the relief efforts for a few days. I really enjoyed being a part of it and serving with them following such a devastating hurricane. It reminded me of what it truly means to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. It also provides perspective on what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves or who our neighbor is. 

    I can't express how humbling it was seeing neighborhoods that had been flooded by Harvey. Front yards across homes were filled with flood-damaged furniture, drywall, etc. To this day, I can't imagine what so many families across the area (and what families impacted by Laura and other hurricanes) went through. It puts into perspective how fragile life is and how all that we have could be gone in an instant. Each day is a blessing from God and one that should be treated as such. 

    In the aftermath of Harvey, I wrote that I never want to experience another "Harvey" again, but that I never want to lose the sight of God's love and how His love is all-powerful. Through God, we were able to come together and help those in need following Harvey. This all hits home a little harder with the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. I hope that I can help out those in need just as people helped out following Harvey. 

    As I close on these reflections, it truly was a whirlwind with all that unfolded over a two week time frame. Thinking about Harvey has always had a double meaning for me, given that it was my Grandpa's first name (that said, he went by Ed, not Harvey) and that he passed right before Harvey hit. God doesn't always calm the "storms" in our lives, but He is always with us. And it is because His Son Jesus Christ lives that we can face tomorrow and life's storms.