Cainberly....and a lesson learned

Do you remember Cainberly?  Here she is in her hayday- April 5,2002!

Here she is almost 9 years later exactly......

And here's the schoolroom...

And my bedroom....

Believe me, I prefer the tranquility of this....

But this......

is my reality.

I have purposefully not posted these to the blog- trying to give myself some time to make sense of it all.  To seek God.  To understand how close to truly meeting my Lord  Abby, Ben, Andy,and I were (about 3 feet, in truth).  We are not the worst off for the wear.  In fact, Andy and I can't bear to hear folks say "I'm so sorry!", even though it comes with the best of intentions.  There are whole towns in Alabama wiped out- Concord, Phil Campbell, Hackelburg....places you never hear on the news.  It's bad.  We are not in the same group of those victims. 

We are inconvenienced.  We're a bit stressed.  We are dusty and disorganized.

But we are not devastated.  We are not destroyed.  We are not homeless.  And we are not hopeless.

I can tell you stories about how it happened.  I can tell you how it looked, how it sounded, how it felt.  I can tell you all of these things- but want I really want to say is this......

He is so good.

So very good.

He brings peace to a time that seems loud and chaotic.  He brings hope to a situation that looks grey and bleak.  He brings love to a home that is buckling under the pressure, and that pressure not of a tree.  He brings grace, oh such sweet grace, to hearts that are hurting, wandering- grasping.

He brings a smile, a tear, a joy everlasting.  He brings gratefulness.  He brings a blessing from shambles.

He brings life.

And what more is to be said than that?

Sweet home Alabama

Dear Friends,
It is with a heavy heart that I type this blog entry. Many of you are fully aware, but for those of you who are not- last Wednesday Alabama was rocked by two waves of tornados and severe with that devastated much of our beautiful state. The out-pouring of immediate love and support has been overwhelming. This is not a quick fix disaster, and I ask for your continued prayers in the weeks and months ahead.
While we Cains are safe, and grateful for it, our home suffered a hit as well. A giant oak came through Cainberly and I am writing to you from our "home away from home"- a duplex two blocks up the street. We are patiently awaiting a visit from the insurance adjustor- we know there are others so much worse off than we are. We have no current needs, but I would ask that you please pray for Abby and Ben. As you can imagine, this whole event has been quite a mess of emotions for them. We are settled in the temporary housing- so they seem to be a little more at ease now.
Please check out the Christian Service Mission here in Birmingham if you would like to donate goods or funds. They are doing extraordinary things in the name of relief. Another option is Samaritan's Purse- the founding organization for Operation Christmas Child. Their website, www. Samaritanspurse.org will update how they are serving in Bessemer/hueytown and Tuscaloosa. (both are on Facebook)
Thank you so much for all of your prayers, messages, and encouragement.
With much love,
Marla