Happiness found in chaos after the storm

By Ana Borden

The morning after Hurricane Zeta came through, our entire family went to work before 8 a.m. to sweep, pick up branches and debris. The excitement of the hurricane and the relief of not having damage was so much so that it was the first thing our children wanted to do, even bypassing breakfast.

Everyone had a task, including all four children, from collecting small branches to raking our cypress leaves to taking care of picking up pine needles and checking in on one of our older neighbor’s property.

A couple of hours in, I realized they were the only children in the neighborhood helping as well as finding joy, even sharing laughter, in the chaos of cleaning up.

Afterwards, we visited my parents and joined them, too, as they helped two ill neighbors with their cleanup. Again, they found joy in working, despite being the youngest, to putting order in the uncertainty.

Even with the lack of power, our children found joy playing in our freshly raked yard and experiencing dinners by candlelight.

It was a series of inconveniences surrounded with many firsts and, luckily, pleasant fall weather.

The memory of their joy and laughter during and after the storm reminds me that we can find God’s blessing and happiness in even the chaos.