20 Years Ago

The forecast track of TS Isaac has many folks thinking about another hurricane, not so long ago … Katrina came onshore near Pass Christian, MS, and wreaked HAVOC on that region of the Gulf Coast.  In the aftermath, Ebenezer (along with many others) sent multiple teams down to do whatever we could to help.  We still remember a little storm called Hugo and all of the help we received!  In fact, Marty Coates organized a team that went in only a couple of days after.  We saw firsthand the destruction.

Fortunately, Isaac is no Katrina.  No Hugo.  But it does remind me of another hurricane named Andrew.  It was 20 years ago and my wife, my almost 2-year-old daughter and I were recovering from the culture shock that is natural when you move from Upstate South Carolina to New Orleans.  The mayor of NO, Marc Morial, issued an evacuation order as Andrew drew close.  And all of my friends laughed!! “It ain’t ever gonna hit us!  You’re a fool if you evacuate!!”

Not too many years before, I had served on a Hugo cleanup team.  I saw what a powerful hurricane can do, and what Andrew had already done to Homestead, FL.  So I packed up my Bronco II and my family, and we headed east.  NEVER FOUND A VACANCY IN A HOTEL.  And by the time we got to Atlanta, we were only 2 hours from home!!  So we drove on into Easley and had an unplanned trip home for a few days.  Andrew jogged west before he came on shore and did very little damage.  And all was well!

Isaac is on a very similar path to Andrew.  And as I sit here, 600 miles away from a city I called home and left a little of my heart in when we left in ’95, I pray for my brothers, sisters, and my seminary.  I pray that Isaac will have even less of a bite than Andrew.  I pray that this city, that has had so much disaster in the last decade, will be safe.  Just like 20 years ago.