What a beautiful day today was. Sunshine, cool temps… such a nice change from the weeks of rain. We’re even forecast to get several more sunny days here over the next week. Let’s pray that it happens.

Well, we’ve had shop vacs of one sort or another running continuously in the basement now for about 30 hours. I finally went and bought one of my own so I wouldn’t keep being scared of burning out the motor on a borrowed vac. :-) The water has slowed down to the point where I don’t think much maintenance will be needed… which is a very good feeling. We’ve still got a lot of cleanup to do, but we’ll leave all the fans and the dehumidifier running all night and I imagine we’ll be in pretty good shape tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed, called, emailed, and otherwise checked in. We were blessed here in Hiawatha to be on high ground. There are thousands down in Cedar Rapids who will be demolishing and rebuilding houses and businesses over the next months and years. It’s going to be a long, difficult recovery.

I mentioned it to Dad this morning on the phone: as soon as the water showed up in my basement, I started praying for good weather with an incredible fervor. Barely had the first prayer left my lips, though, then I felt a sense of guilt - why was I only praying now, when the water had been in other people’s basements, homes, and businesses, for days now? I am reminded that I need to hold up my neighbors in prayer with the same attention that I pray for myself and my family. A good lesson to learn, even in the midst of the flood.