'Til The Storm Passes By

So Hurricane Sandy brought to us everything they predicted and a little more. 

 At first, it was beautiful and I enjoyed watching it pile up on the table and the trees.  But then, about 2:00am I heard a horrible crack and crash outside.  Unfortunately, it was only the first of many that we would hear throughout the night.

 We tried to sleep, but every time we heard a noise outside, we jumped out of bed, terrified that a branch was about to come crashing through our window, or land on Billy's truck, which he was unable to get into the driveway because of the snow.  When he tried to back it up, it just slid sideways, so he was forced to leave it.

 Finally, we moved from our bed to our spare bedroom, away from the two huge trees in the front yard.  But we'd only been there a few minutes when a huge branch broke off a tree in the back, and we gave up on sleep for the night.  We bundled up as warm as we could and went outside to try to save our house and vehicles.
 We used a shovel to try to beat the ice off the tree branches.  Some of them were so heavy, they were laying on the roof or almost touching the ground.  We also used a hacksaw to cut branches out of the driveway.  (Billy bought a chainsaw first thing this morning!)  With much work and prayer, Billy was able to get the truck across the bridge and move it up the road out of danger.  During this time, the snow never let up.  Branches continued to break off our trees, and we could hear huge trees cracking and falling up in the mountains.  Around 6:30 am we heard an explosion that was either from the power plant up the road, or a transformer blowing.  We finally came inside at about 7:15.  We were absolutely frozen solid!  We had some hot chocolate, and laid down on the couch for a quick nap.
Going outside while trees and limbs were falling out of the trees, was probably not the smartest thing we could have done.  I can't even pretend that I wasn't terrified, but I spent a lot of time praying out there.  God protected us, and our house and our vehicles during the long night.  The snow has yet to let up, so we're hunkered down for another night.  Hopefully this one will contain some sleep!
This song is in my heart today, "'Til the storm passes over, 'til the thunder sounds no more, 'til the clouds roll forever from the sky.  Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand, keep me safe 'til the storm passes by." 

Prayers for everyone on the east coast suffering from Hurricane Sandy,
Lyndsie