Gratitude in the face of Ian

Is it true that "Everything is a gift"?

UPDATE: Lynne and Mary made it home safely. Some significant outside damage but everything inside was perfect and dry.

Catastrophic. Devastating. Extreme. Monstrous.

We’ve almost run out of adjectives for the hurricane headed for western Florida; so we’ll just use his name Ian, which, weirdly, comes from Scottish Gaelic meaning  "God is gracious.” 

As Ian is being upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane, projections of a sea surge crashing into an already flooded land are mind boggling. Imagine being hit by a wall of water two stories high … the word surge doesn’t seem to adequately describe it.

Over 2 million people have been ordered to evacuate and my friend Lynne and her partner are two of them.

I received this message from Lynne this morning and it could well be the last I hear from her for awhile as power outages spread. Lynne and I have been friends for decades and she is the co-creator of Gratitude Mojo, a project we started together a bit over a year ago, with the intention of creating a life-changing gratitude practice journal.

Both of us feel that we have met that criteria for ourselves; still, Lynne’s message touched me deeply.

Kind of unbelievable, but we are as prepared as possible. I have been adrenaline fused for days and have felt like a bit of a Wonder Woman accomplishing things I never dreamed I was capable of. Two things have fueled adrenaline; one is a state of emergency, two is gratitude. I swear it has gotten me through these days. 

An added reason this statement is remarkable is because Lynne has battled chronic Lyme disease for the past fourteen years. Physical and mental energy is never something she takes for granted and I can feel her gratitude for being able to handle this crisis and protect her partner and herself in these challenging days.

We know how blessed we have been to be together and to have every day of loving this place and our home. We may lose the home, but as long as we are together and safe, love will choose and create the next home. 

Love came late in life to Lynne and Mary with health and an age-discrepancy guaranteeing heartbreak sooner rather than later. Yet, they threw caution to the wind and created a love story that still makes me teary every time I hear it. Love is always a blessing and their courage is inspirational.

I have proven the quote to myself; there is never a moment in time when there are not things to be grateful for. We may not be able to plug into thoughts of those things at a given moment in time, but they are there for us the moment we are ready to return to those thoughts. Those thoughts have gotten me through these days and will sustain me through whatever comes from here. 

Written when Ian’s result is still unknown. Lynne and I have both come to realize that gratitude practice builds resilience, gives us the hope and confidence to go forth tomorrow, regardless of what comes today. It is in the challenges that come our way that we grow. This is an overwhelming time of uncertainty for Lynne. Her message this morning gave me courage and she gave me permission to share it with you.

The internet is bad already. We may be disconnected for a few days but I will touch base as soon as possible. Hugs and Thanks. You brought the gratitude gift into my life and it has forever changed my life. ❤️😊🙏

As the world watches a force of nature continue on its way toward landfall, we don’t know what we will find tomorrow. Most likely, too many people will be homeless; too many will have lost loved ones; too many lives will be disrupted and in chaos. Gratitude tells me that life will go on although most certainly changed.

Lynne is a fan of dragons, so this quote made me think of her and what so many of us are going through in so many ways. She has tamed this dragon; may she find a gift of great value.

                                "Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth...
                                       Tame the dragon and the gift is yours."
                                                        -- Noela Evans

Possibly, a bright spot

If there is one bright spot in this landscape, it’s the response of neighbors. We may be divided politically, but people from all over the country are finding ways to help.

• Energy teams from Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey and Maine are on their way to help Florida with power restoration.

• In Springfield, Missouri, volunteers with Convoy of Hope have packed more than 10,000 meals over the past two days to hand out to those impacted after the storm, and are ready to deploy to the hardest-hit areas later this week. The volunteers bring their own trailers equipped with beds, showers and meals.

• A NASCAR venue has opened campgrounds to Ian evacuees.

• Texas has deployed search-and-rescue teams to Florida.

And, I am sure there are untold more people and organizations opening their hearts and pocket books, finding ways to help in this crisis headed toward the people of Florida, our neighbors.

Maybe, just maybe, this coming together will spark new gratitude for this country and for all of our neighbors.