Prayers from the ark

Parts of Texas had severe flooding after torrential rains last night. My mother woke up at two in the morning to discover water was pouring in under the front door. Fortunately she was unharmed, but the carpets were soaked and the wooden floor in the living room has already begun to buckle. She worked until four in the morning trying to get water off the floors. 

When I spoke with her this afternoon, she was waiting for a call back from a service to come dry things out. Another service told her they could come, but not until Monday. She is already planning for needed flooring replacement. This is considered flood damage, and her homeowner's insurance will not pay anything. The house is not in a flood plain and she never thought she would need insurance for this sort of thing. She will be able to pay for it, but it is an unexpected large expense. 

My generous sister-in-law and one of my nieces offered to go down to help her, but she told them she is fine. (I am a two-day drive away, and although my brother and his wife live in Texas, they are a full day's drive away, too.) What my mother needs, and what all of us would be unable to do, is professionals to come and get the water out of the carpets. She did not lose power and it sounds like damage to floor and carpet is the main thing.

Other people fared far worse than she did. Several lives were lost in Palestine, a town not far from her, where she and my father lived for a short time in the early 1990s. Water there rose to roof levels too fast for rescue workers to get everyone out of danger in time. So say a prayer for those in need, especially those who lost loved ones, property and prized possessions.