Hello dear ones, now to write about the tragic loss of lives in the Texas flash floods this past July 4^th holiday weekend.

You may remember this is how I began my last blog. “The Lord has been giving piece by piece messages that are like a healing balm for aching hearts and clearing minds that cannot understand. I will try to explain”.

This tragedy was on my mind when I began that blog, but my thoughts were quickly directed to the state of our nation as I acknowledged what we were supposed to be celebrating that weekend. My ‘Dangers of Prosperity’ series is what developed instead. As I concluded this series, my final thought was that in my next blog:  

     “I will write about the incredible, faith-filled responses to the catastrophic floods in Texas this past July 4^th. Yes, during our nation’s time to celebrate, that turned into mind-boggling, tragic devastation. Yet, more healing balm for aching hearts and clearing minds that cannot understand. No, this is more like crushed hearts that we may never understand. But we can take a look together and gain more trust in Him and His Ways even in the devastation”.

I will begin with cousin, Kathy, and her husband, Gene. You may remember that they were the ones who generously gifted us a stay in their “Little Paradise” condo after we sold our house to downsize in 2021. I wrote about it in The Gift of Little Paradise poem and the narrative in “Blue Skies, Butterflies, and Battlegrounds”.

Since that event, they downsized and moved to the city of Kerrville, in the county of Kerr, TX, less than one year ago. Yes, that is the county that sustained the most fatalities during the July 4^th flash floods. Our cousins were safe, but greatly impacted by the devastation all around them. It has been too sad to express accurately in words, but there have been some valiant attempts. I am taking the liberty of copying them to share, as I’m certain they were written for that purpose. More healing balm straight from our Lord, especially when we don’t understand.

I will begin with an email that I received from Kathy shortly after I inquired about their safety. This email was sent on July 5^th, one day after the tragedy.

Reba, this came from my sister-in-law, Carol. She’s on the board at Schreiner University. The writings may seem lengthy, but they describe well the disaster we have been living through. 

A clear analysis of what happened from the Schreiner University Texas Center

The July 4 Flash Flood   This is a tough email to write.   In the early morning hours of July 4, the remnants of two tropical storms—one Pacific, one Gulf—converged over the Hill Country of Texas and dumped a deluge of rain on the headwaters of the Guadalupe, Llano, and San Saba rivers. The forecast the day before had been 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms. No one saw this coming on July 3.   Apparently, at 1:15 am on July 4, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning—long after the retirees, vacationers, and young campers had turned in the for the night on this holiday weekend. Of course, this is a region known for spotty cell phone coverage which, in happier times, adds to its tranquility.   Just not this night. As cowboys and counselors, campers and caretakers slumbered on, the rain came. A jogger in Kerrville, a dozen miles downstream, might have noticed a spitting rain. But upstream, the bottom had already dropped out of the sky. It hit the rocks and drought-baked soil of Kerr County and it ran like it was power washing concrete. An hour later, it came toward Kerrville . . . heavy.  The Guadalupe River valley served as a funnel, and the once trickling stream became a roaring messenger of doom.   The river rose about half a foot a minute for an hour. Ancient cypress trees lost their grip on the earth and became battering rams heading down stream at velocity. Houses and cabins—many occupied—floated away, their terrified inhabitants trying to formulate an escape plan. Recreational vehicles carried their vacationing owners downstream to uncertain—but often predictable—fates. Some clung to trees and awaited the rotor wash of rescue helicopters.  Many would survive, some did not. The water spared no one—the young and the old, the innocent and the wizened.    As one meteorologist is reported to have posted, “nearly 2 trillion gallons of water fell across the Texas Hill Country. To put that into perspective, it could supply 11 million homes with water for one year, or fill 1.5 million Olympic swimming pools.”   And it fell in a matter of minutes.   Think about all this swift water. For a short minute, that fast water is a little more than ankle deep. Three minutes, it is nearly knee high—even higher on a little kid. The force of that water is making it hard to keep your feet. At five minutes, its nearly waist high on an adult, and your chances of keeping your feet are growing mighty slim.   If you do go down, you are racing down a roaring river clogged with trees, cars, trailers, cottages, butane tanks, siding, and assorted debris. The Gudalupe is also a very rocky stream in this part of the very rocky Hill Country.   Amidst this pandemonium, two camp owner/directors, at Mystic and Heart of the Hills, heroically surrendered their lives attempting to rescue their young campers. They knew the danger—anyone who has lived here any length of time does—but they had to try, no matter the cost.   The aftermath has been devastation. The list of dead, and missing, is long. It includes retirees who had their little piece of heaven in Texas. It included friends enjoying a holiday weekend that would be highlighted by a Robert Earl Keen concert and fireworks show at Louise Hays Park in Kerrville. It also includes young families—mom, dad, and the kids—who have vanished.    This storm was a killer, a destroyer. Not just in Kerr County, but across the middle of Texas. And it still is.   We at The Texas Center are high and dry. Schreiner University has served as a reunion station for people separated, or who lost everything they owned in the world. We are now transitioning to a staging area and housing facility for the hundreds of emergency workers who had rushed to the aid of their fellow Texans.   This also hits close to home. Dallas Meadows, one of our own here at The Texas Center, has a nephew missing. No word one way or the other. He was asleep in a cabin on a ranch upstream. Dallas is our in-charge for the annual Western Art Academy, and she is throwing herself into her responsibilities to keep her mind off of the great unknown. In an interesting twist, Dallas’s nephew came out a few weeks back to lend a hand as a model—since he is a real-life buckaroo. Now there are student-artists from Houston, unaware of the gravity of the chaos just miles away from the safety of their studios and campus apartments, using his image as a model for their painting projects.    Hope remains that he is yet alive, and simply has not been able to check in. Time will tell.    The sounds of helicopters going overhead, and the sight of emergency vehicles—especially ambulances—driving slowly just reminds us that this massive debris field (trees, cars, trailers, etc.) may be slow to give up its secrets.   There is a fund at the Community Foundation of the Hill Country to help the thousands of people who lost much, if not all, of their possessions get their feet back under them.   Pictures of the aftermath were shown that I did not include here. The gorgeous riverscape of Kerrville is now populated with splintered and broken trees.    Well, there is nothing for it now. To quote Governor Greg Abbott, Kerrville has proven to be “quintessentially Texan” in our response to this crisis. Or, as Secretary of Homeland Security echoed, Kristi Noem said, “you are an example for the nation.”   Sometimes, you make history. Sometimes, history makes you. Both of those forces are at work here in Kerrville right now. They probably always have been.   Thank you to all who have inquired. We have caught our breath, rolled up our sleeves, and are getting about the tasks at hand.   Like Texans.   (And I say like AMERICANS!)   Hard to write indeed, but the writer pressed forward! The writing was so articulate in painting a picture of the step-by-step unknown disaster brewing just ahead. Pause for a moment and think of the anticipated fun-filled days ahead, that so swiftly and unexpectedly transformed into their worst nightmare, as the writer’s word picture portrayed. The picture was monstrous, just as the storm. So many of the innocent were soon to be victims. The raging waters were no respecter of persons, animals, or earthly things. Just to envision the fear, panic, and chaos they experienced would break even the coldest of hearts. And then the writer honored the two who surrendered their lives in a fatal attempt to save others. “They had to try, no matter the cost.” No greater love than this! Then we move on to the helping hands. The comfort, hope, and sacrificial service as they were suffering as well. Texans as Americans, pulling together as the heart, hands, and feet of our Lord. I find it interesting how the Lord can take what the enemy intended for bad and turn it for good. Good in that we turn from our selfish ways, reach out to others, and realize that we could have so easily been victims ourselves. I believe this is a good starting place to give us a glimpse of the depth (please, no pun intended) of the pain and crushed hearts that we may never understand. Throughout this process, I hope you will see God still working in the hearts and lives of people. People of a nation that, in many ways, have gone their “own” way, as in my most recent blogs. America was founded to be God’s light to all nations, and God is not finished with her, even in all her straying, as the prodigal son or the lost sheep. And as the most frequently quoted verse in the Bible says in John 3:16 NKJV “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “Emphasis mine. That means you, no matter where you are.   In my next blog, I will continue with more faith-filled responses to this tragedy with a letter to the University Campus from President Charlie McCormick of Shreiner University. I know many of you across the globe have experienced tragedy like this (in some cases, much worse) and need some hope and healing from things we cannot understand. By taking a look together, we gain more trust in Him and His ways, even in the devastation. I’m reminded of the metaphor that the Apostle Paul uses in Romans 8:22 NKJV: “We know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now”. There is a universal groaning, not just within humanity, but throughout all creation as it awaits the ultimate redemption and renewal with the return of Christ. Our hope of future glory and liberation from the effects of sin is in Him alone. God bless you and remember that He loves you more than you could ever know. And He is good all the time, no matter the circumstances. He is returning to make all things right. Are you ready? Reba