Tuesday was my Mom's birthday. To celebrate, my sister's fiancé, Ken, and our best friends, Sandra and her daughters Pamela and Paola, whom we have known our whole lives, were over to spend some time chatting and eating and having a good time. Around nine o'clock, my mom asked my brother to take our two Chihuahua puppies outside. He was about to open the door to go out with them when he decided to ask my mom for their leashes. Suddenly something hit the porch window hard and there was a loud bang and a crash outside. Paola and I heard the noise from the living room and turned to look at each other, concerned.
"What was that?" I shouted to the people in the kitchen. They didn't answer so we got up quickly and went into the kitchen.
"Something slammed into the house!" my mom said. She went outside to find what had hit the window and found a large stone on the ground in front of the porch window. Looking around to find out where it had come from, she saw that our garage port was missing.
"The garage port flew! Our garage port is in the driveway!" My brother shouted.
Everyone in the kitchen looked at each other in astonishment. I went upstairs to tell my dad about what had happened and soon almost everyone was outside inspecting the damage. Outside the wind was blowing strongly and the rain, though light, was pretty cold. We saw that the garage port was bent on the driveway near the side of the house and one of the poles had gone through the front windshield of Ken's car. We all worked quickly trying to remove the tarp from the top of the garage port so that it would not be blown away by another gust of wind. Ken called his dad to tell him that there was a situation and ask him to drive over to our house while my dad inspected the car and the rest of us cut the tarp off of the bottom support beams of the garage port. We peeled the tarp off of the frame and dragged it out of the way and someone took pictures of the damage to the car. We checked the other cars and found that one of the cement blocks that had been used to anchor the garage port had made a large dent in the front corner of the hood of Sandra's car. Once we had removed the tarp and were sure that the port wouldn't blow away again we all went back inside and a had a time of prayer and gave thanks to God.
The garage port was ruined, a windshield needed to be replaced and a dent needed to be fixed, but the whole situation could have been infinitely worse. If anyone had been outside when the port flew, if Ken had been sitting in the car, if the rock had come crashing through the window -- these three 'if's would have had fatal results, but, glory to God, no one got so much as a scratch.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
- Psalm 91
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