My Story

The day after Hurricane Ian, we awoke to find every tree in our yard broken, twisted, or lying on the ground.  Temperatures were already  climbing and the humidity was unbearable.  We had no air conditioning of course, and electricity would not be restored to us for 11 days.  Thankfully, the surge waters that had been rushing down our street the previous night had receded, but they left their distinctive smell behind and our yard was squishy and covered with debris.  Like us, neighbors were out assessing their similar damage and checking on everyone's safety.
I found my rain boots and a pair of loppers and began cutting up one of the downed trees in the front yard.  I remember praying as I was working, "Lord, I don't know how we are going to be able to clear these trees without help.  Please help us!"  Almost immediately, a pickup truck pulling a trailer turned the corner and stopped in front of our house!  Three men climbed out and one asked, "Do you need some help, ma'am?"
The men were from Deland, a city northeast of Orlando. They had driven toward the storm through the night with tree-clearing equipment and a desire to help.  In a half an hour, all our downed and twisted trees were cut up and stacked on the curb!   ​They may have been just men, but to me, they were angels from heaven.