A Storm That Changes Everything

 Sometimes a storm comes and changes everything.

 

On Saturday, Heidi and I set up a booth for #_dandhdesigns_ at a local vendor fair.

Shortly after the event started,

Barb The Art Teacher showed up.

Amy The Disney Expert showed up too.

I didn’t know either of them was coming!

And none of us knew what was about to happen.

 

We were humming along,

Hanging out and chatting,

When suddenly we heard distant thunder.

Dark clouds quickly rolled in and rain began to fall.

We all worked to get our tables under the tent.  

And we used Barb’s emergency ponchos to cover the products still getting wet.

 

Then it happened.

 

A gust of wind picked up the tent beside us,

Pushed it into our tent,

Knocked over a bunch of our pieces,

And then kept dangerously rolling through the parking lot.

Thankfully no one was hurt.

 

Amy and I immediately grabbed our tent to keep it from blowing away.

Heidi and Barb immediately went to help the vendor next to us get her products to safety.

Amy and I continued holding our tent until two event workers came to help us take it down.

As we were taking it down, we realized that our tent was broken.

 

I don’t know everything that happened next.

I went to get the car, assuming that we would throw everything into the trunk in a disheveled mess.

But when I got to our site, it was empty.

Heidi, Amy, Barb, and the event workers had moved all of our products to a corner of the nearby shelter.

 

Barb asked if I had a towel, which, for some reason I did,

So she took the towel and began drying off our pieces.

Realizing that we were not yet leaving, I moved the car back to the parking lot.

Amy, Barb, and Heidi set up all of the pieces again and

We ended up staying for another two hours!

Every other vendor left during the storm.

Because we were the only ones who stayed,

We made some sales that we otherwise might not have made.

 

A stressful day turned into a strange success.

 

A storm came and changed everything.

 

On this September 11th,

I am reminded of the storm that hit 22 years ago today.

With the bombing of the Twin Towers,

America changed.

For some changes, we are grateful.

For other changes, we lament.

But one thing is certain,

 

A storm came and changed everything.

 

Oh God. When life’s storms hit and everything changes, help us to hold to the love of those around us, for it is your love made manifest on earth. Amen.