Answered Prayers: Reflections After the Hurricane

Thursday morning, after the hurricane, as the sun rose above the trees, we nervously stepped outside to assess the damage. Despite the winds that had howled all night long, our neighborhood was in surprisingly good shape. 

As we surveyed our neighbor’s lots (neighbors who had not yet returned for “the season”) we began dragging big, green palm fronds to the street and loading them into the bed of our truck. First this lot. Then that lot.

I snapped pictures and messaged friends to let them know if there was any visible damage to their property. They would reply with their gratitude and then ask “can you check lot ‘such and such for so and so’…” so we would.

More clean up. More pictures. More messages. And our 8ft truck bed filled up fast. Very fast. Over and over.

As the day wore on, my mind was filled with thoughts like, WOW! These palm fronds are heavy! I asked my husband how much he thought they weighed on average… he guessed about 25 pounds. 

Lifting them over and over gave me a whole new appreciation for the Bible story about people waving palm branches when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

I thought about brotherly love and how our neighbors just showed up to help. No Facebook post to rally the community…no flyers stapled to the community bulletin board.  We just walked outside and started doing what needed to be done. And soon there were others. And then others.

As we were downloading one of our many truckloads of branches, a stranger walked up and helped us… so when we moved our empty truck out of the way and he backed in his truck - also piled high with green palm fronds - we helped him download in return.

The stranger’s name is Butch. He’s not a stranger anymore.

I thought about how God had answered each specific prayer I had prayed in remarkable ways! I had prayed that we wouldn’t lose power; and while about half the county was without electricity after the hurricane had passed, our power never even flickered. 

I had prayed for no damage to our RV and tiki and shed… and hear me when I say, there’s a difference between praying for protection vs specifically praying for NO DAMAGE. Things can be protected but still sustain damage. You can sustain a lot of damage and always acknowledge that it could have been worse… so you were protected.

But when you get specific, God gets specific back at ya. We had no damage. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. 

Our neighbors on the left and right and across from us were “protected” but they sustained a little damage which will cost them a few hundred bucks…could have been worse. I had prayed for protection for the entire resort. 

My kids in Orlando - also safe. Just as I had prayed. 

I also thought about the prayers of others—friends across the country were praying for us, and those prayers brought me peace during the tense hours of waiting. It reminded me of my own prayers for those affected by Hurricane Helene just weeks earlier, and how grateful I felt to be on the receiving end this time.

By the end of the day, I was completely drained—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The hype, planning, preparation, and constant news coverage had taken its toll. I just needed rest. I feel incredibly fortunate, blessed, even humbled, that God heard my prayers.

Am I saying those who suffered catastrophic loss were ignored by God? Absolutely not. I still don’t have all the answers for why bad things happen to good people, but I do know God is in control. He knows the end of the story. Maybe the lesson is to trust the Author of the story rather than asking Him to rewrite it to fit our desires. There’s a lot to unpack, and I’m sure I’ll be writing more as I continue to process it.

Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you.

✌💙🌼