The storm has passed, and for our area we are lucky because it didn’t require too much recovery. I saw that power was out for about 300,000 across the state at the height of the storm. While most of it has been restored, it can be rather frustrating if you are the one waiting for your power to come back on. I read that some people in Florida’s hardest hit areas could be without power for another week or more.
I see piles of limbs and branches everywhere I look, but that is minor compared to what others have gone through from this storm. I have seen pictures from across the Carolinas of trees fallen, with some hitting people’s houses. Naturally, there was some flooding down at the coast. The coastal areas always have more cleanup after any kind of tropical storm. In comparison to other storms, I think the Carolinas faired pretty well.
Have you seen some of the pictures coming out of Florida, where the hurricane caused the most damage? I saw some aerial shots that showed before and after pictures. In the after pictures there were no green plants or trees at all. Some pictures show no evidence of a house or business even being there. There are many pictures of boats piled up in heaps. There are some boats that are far from any water, sitting on the ground.
For some people recovery will take a couple of weeks or maybe a month, but for others it could take a year or longer to get back to a “normal” life. A friend of mine lives about 100 miles from where the hurricane hit and things were back to normal within a couple of days. The area of devastation is not very wide, but if you were one of the people there your world has been turned upside down. There are many people who need more than our thoughts and prayers.
I read a story that says the people in the storm’s path are not only struggling with the physical losses, but the mental and emotional trauma that stains people who have endured such traumatic circumstances. Some people are facing the loss of loved ones, neighbors, and friends, which only adds to the heartaches. The scars that some people have suffered are not always visible. While most will find paths back to a normal life, others will struggle to discover the path to healing and restoration.
Recovery is something we all do differently. The trouble I find, and I am guilty of this, is that we don’t allow ourselves the time that is required to recover. We get a cold and hope to shake it in a few days and be back to full speed. Our bodies need more time to rest. I know some people who had Covid and it was just like the sniffles for a couple days, and then they were back to their normal selves. Others were in the hospital and had a long road to recovery. In either case, we need to allow our bodies time to heal and recover.
Recovery from surgery takes time. We have amazing bodies that can recover from all kinds of trauma. I’ve had a number of friends go through open heart surgery and you can be sure it took some time to recover from that. The surgery on my arm to remove a cyst took a while to heal. Whenever we have some kind of medical procedure done we have to allow time for the body to heal and recover.
The need for recovery is not limited to medical procedures. When we experience the loss of a loved one, we need to give ourselves time to heal and recover. Losing someone close to us, whether family or friend, requires that we give ourselves permission to grieve and the space and time to do it. This applies to losing a family pet, too. Sometimes the hurt we need to recover from is not physical but emotional or spiritual.
I want to encourage you to give yourself permission to recover the next time you go through something. If you find yourself in that place now know that it is okay to slow down and rest. It is okay to disengage and allow your mind and body to heal and recover. Some recovery only requires physical healing, while others include emotional healing. It takes a while to get over something. Don’t expect yourself to recover super-fast because true healing is a slow and gradual process. Invite Jesus into your healing process. He will guide you each step of the way.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
