One Monday Morning In Texas
Texas is broken. Caught flat footed. It's not supposed to snow this much in Texas.
Today was a big relief. Outdoor temperatures have gone up to a toasty 30 degrees F. Snow has started to melt. Power and running water were restored, indoor heating appeared stable. I had my first hot shower this morning and it was the best.
Since Monday morning, outdoor temperatures were at 7 degrees F. We would walk around the house with gloves, hats, and five layers of clothing for each of Rose and me. We slept with five blankets on - with our hats and gloves. We didn't have power, heater and hot water. At best, we might have about 2 hours of electricity a day. No fireplace. We began worrying that we were running out of food that needed cooking since we have no ability to cook without electricity. Mandatory "boil water" for consumption. Wasn't much of an issue because we didn't have water.
I did fill two bathtubs with water before they shut the water supply. One day, we boiled water so we can have an elephant bath. Couldn't believe that a large pot of hot water was all that was needed for both Rose and I to shampoo our hair and soap our bodies. "Try beating that, Navy Seals!"
A teachable experience for sure. We found out that the pasta bowl for cooking was the ideal size for flushing the toilet. For a while, our rubric was "if it's yellow, make it mellow, if it's brown, send it down." Hahah. I used an old hair dryer to thaw the water pipe to get hot water back.
One of the upsides of this crisis is that Texans forgot about the Covid pandemic. Everybody was talking about how to cope up with the snow storms (we had three consecutive storms). Our church community was a great support to everyone. People sharing food, opening their houses that still have power, praying for one another. Kind of like the early church in the New Testament. (Acts 2:44)
Sang this psalm after our morning prayer:
"I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me." - Psalm 116:1-6
The say this kind of snowstorms only happens every 30 years in Texas. By then, I would be so old that I wouldn't know where I am.
Selah.
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