Under the Shelter of His Wings

Kaile: On the evening of the 17th, we went into town to have dinner with my grandfather. We stayed there for a few hours and toward the end of the night (a little before 11:00 PM) we began to hear the wind pick up outside. The area of Texas we live in has wind most of the year, so we didn't think that it was too strange.

Doris: As we heard the wind pick up, I quickly looked at the radar for the weather in our area. A huge storm was south of my dad's house but we couldn't determine if it was near our house (we live six miles south of my dad). Nonetheless, we said a little prayer and asked the Lord to protect our house, car and animals in the name of Jesus. Then, we spent a little more time with my dad and decided that we better get back to the house.

Kaile: As my mom and I drove down the road that our house is on, we noticed that there were flashing lights as we came closer to our area. As we surveyed the scene, we realized that everyone within a mile of us had no power. I also remarked that one of the road signs was twisted and leaning at a 45-degree angle.

Doris: Losing power at our country house is not uncommon but we soon found this time was different. When we drove onto our property, I felt something was off. I even thought that the dumpster might have looked different. I just brushed it off, chalking it up to things looking different due to not having power. I then called the power company to let them know that we had no power. We then found out that we had lost power a few minutes before 11:00 PM, about the same time we heard the wind pick up at my dad's.

Kaile: My mom and I went inside and lit the candles and got the flashlights to be ready for what was expected to be a short time without power. My mom looked outside and noticed that the power line going to the two security lights on our property was down. We then realized that it would take a few more hours than we had initially anticipated. As the hours passed, we watched the electric company's trucks go by and realized that the damage that this storm had caused was more extensive than we realized.

Doris: Throughout the night, we kept in contact with the electric company to find out the status of the outage and found out that there were 10 poles/power lines down in our area. As the sun rose, we had a better idea of what happened the night before. I looked around our property and saw that not only were our power lines down but there was a roof in the field to the right of our house, a window in our shed missing, the license plate on our car was twisted/bent, two of our trees were halfway to the ground, a small part of our well house was gone and, as I had thought the night before, the dumpster was moved about 30 yards away from where it was before and on its top. At that moment was when I realized that it was not just "wind" but seemed more like "tornadic activity".

Kaile: When my mom and I realized all the things that had happened the night before, we began to praise the Lord for sparing us from this storm with a tornado. I went outside to look more closely at the damage and noticed that there was some siding in the front of our house missing but almost as soon as I had noticed that, the Lord directed my eyes to our back yard and there were the missing pieces of the siding neatly placed in the corner of the yard (nails and all). Praise the Lord! As I walked around the house, the more I saw that the Lord really preserved and spared us. The tree that was directly above our 300-gallon propane tank was severely damaged but Inoticed that the Lord neatly placed the half of the tree that was down on our fence, leaving the tank unharmed. Again, we praise the Lord! I also thought it was very interesting that the piece of the window that was missing is not cracked and still in the vicinity of the shed. The license plate of the car was twisted and bent but was quickly fixed (no damage to the car!), while none of the dozens of large branches that came off the trees hit the car but landed next to it. We also found the missing parts to our well house and were able to put them back in place. Praise the Lord!

Doris: The other tree south of our house is about 20 feet tall but one-half was broken down the middle and was placed beside our house but, by the grace of God, the tree broke away from our house, even though it had been above our roof. Also, the dumpster that was on its top was easily put back by the trash man, praise the Lord! So, even though there was a terrible storm that whirled around us, we were spared, praise His holy name FOREVER!

Kaile: And our testimony doesn't end there, folks! As the hours went by, we were still waiting for the power to be restored. My mom and I began to ask the Lord to preserve the food in our fridge and freezer that He had so lovingly blessed us with and, as Matthew 18:19 says, Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.

Doris: Over 20 hours and 90-degree temperatures (in the house; outside was 102) later, our power was finally restored. Thank you, Lord! And just as we had agreed, all of our food was preserved! Hallelujah! We know and stand on the promises in Psalm 91 for our protection and we saw the Most High not only protects us but goes above and beyond what we could ever even imagined.

Kaile: He also allowed us to realize that the storm carrying a tornado passed through on the 17th, which didn't get lost on us. "17" means preservation through judgment; thank you, Lord!

This indeed was a trial of our faith and patience but, as the Lord has promised in His Word: (Heb.10:23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised...

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