Gratitude. Waking up at 5 a.m., which should have brought us the worst of the storm, and hearing: nothing.
After a while I heard some rain, but no wind.
The next thing I heard was our emergency radio blasting out a flood warning. Flooding is a serious worry for many here, but we live at the top of a hill.
What a difference a few miles makes.
Thank you all for your many, eastward-blowing prayers! The very slight eastward shift of Matthew has made a huge difference to Florida. The coast is still experiencing strong gusts, but the news anchors are struggling to find stories: a sign fallen here, a boat with broken windows there. Downed power lines, and many people without power.
With this blessing comes a cautionary tale: an equally small shift westward would have been a different story altogether. Preparation is always essential. We should be grateful for miracles, but not presume upon them.
It's far from over. Matthew's eye is still south of us. They still expect serious impact on the coast and in flood zones. Winds have been picking up a bit for us, and branches sitll play occasional drum solos on our roof. For now, we have power, but we don't take that for granted: in the past, power outages have come significantly after the storm has passed and we've started to feel safe.
But this update is far from the one I was expecting to make this morning. We are thankful.
