Morning Glory

Last night, while having dinner with friends, we noticed a steady wind blowing. When we left their home, we were jumping for joy at the sight of stars. For the last six months, the stars have been hiding behind rain and clouds. We were hoping it meant sunshine in the morning.

We were not disappointed. We woke up to beautiful, warm sunshine, luscious green trees and of course a morning glory. After nine solid days of rain storms, we could not wait to get outside and feel the warmth of UV rays burning skin cells.

While we were thrilled to get out in the sun, we also wanted to see what the river left behind. Today we walked in the riverbed, where only a few days ago water was raging.

You can see that bulldozers have made a temporary berm of dirt and rocks in an attempt to keep the river in it's banks.

Last week there was water where we are walking. It was rushing against this house.

You can see the bottom layer of small rocks, then sand, then bigger rocks and loose dirt. 

I am astounded by the power of water. We cannot live without water, yet water can also bring death. Erosion is a powerful force. The riverbed is changed, the water flow is changed, people's homes and livelihoods are changed. The difference is profound.

A friend of our's owns this house. It used to have three apartments - now only two. There was a lovely garden out front, where my Spanish teacher, Gladys, was married a couple years ago.

The sandy foundation has been washed away.

This is no longer a safe place to live.

Water is powerful enough to crush concrete, steel and human lives.

When the world around me is shaking, smoldering, flooding, changing ...  here's the one thing I know that I know - God never changes. "There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning."