It started out as the perfect storm—in a good sense. We were bringing Jeff’s dad and stepmom to Louisiana to meet their first great-grandchild, but we also wanted to do a little extra, considering that Jeff’s dad turned 75 in August. So when we learned Jeff would have a speaking engagement in Houston in late September, it appeared the perfect segue between the two things. We bought their plane tickets to Houston, bought tickets to the Astros vs. Rangers baseball game that evening, then booked an Airbnb in Baton Rouge to be with our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter from Thursday to Sunday. Then we would drive back to Austin, which they hadn’t yet visited, and they would fly home from there. A week of many different places and experiences that all seemed to fit exactly right.
But we left out one variable: Tropical Storm Imelda decided to land directly in our path!
She ruffled our plans for the first time on Tuesday, the day before my in-laws were due to arrive. Instead of driving to Houston Wednesday morning, we went on Tuesday night in order to avoid the heaviest of the predicted rain. No biggie. One more night in the hotel there. And it was just rain. Not a hurricane or anything. In fact, Wednesday it rained off and on, but nothing horrible. We went to the ballgame, had a great time, and prepared to leave for Baton Rouge on Thursday morning after Jeff finished his business meeting.
We hit the road a little after 10 am for the typically 3 1/2 hour drive to Baton Rouge. But it was raining now. Hard. We all fell silent, listening to the windshield wipers flapping at their highest speed and the water hitting the car and the road. Not a problem. It was just rain. Or so said my husband.
Then the GPS took us off I-10—the highway connecting Houston and Baton Rouge—due to a slowdown. It appeared we would wind around on smaller roads to meet up with the highway again several miles later. After the incident, we assumed. Only when we reached the highway, it was shut down. Completely. Police directed us back the way we’d come. They simply wouldn’t allow anyone to proceed eastward. We stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and to look over the maps. Yes, there seemed to be a state highway a bit south, running parallel to I-10. We’d do that. No big deal.
Except a few miles down those roads we hit a flooded portion. Other drivers turning around. We did the same, only to arrive back at the shut down highway. We searched for a more northern route to hit an eastbound road and backtracked to get to a street that would take us to the old highway leading to Baton Rouge. Slower, but would still get us to our destination.
Only it didn’t. We couldn’t even get there! Every route we tried ended in a river that was once a road. At one point, we drove slowly through several inches of water to reach solid ground only to go several more miles to a truly impassable point. We turned around and had to drive back through the first flooded area again!
Now we understand there was no passage through. At least not that day. So we headed back toward Houston, found a hotel in Channelview. Then after more information, we changed our minds and proceeded a few miles east one more time, ending up in Baytown, Texas, for the night. Four harrowing hours on the road and we’d gone what is normally a 1/2 hour drive! And the rain continued to fall.
Until we hit a stretch of road with water sloshing from both sides, water running across the pavement. And yet we were in a whole line of cars slowly driving that watery surface. No place to turn. The only way forward was . . .forward.
In the morning, we heard some barges had run into the I-10 bridge in Channelview—rendering it impassable. Had we stayed in Channelview, we would have had no hope of getting to Baton Rouge that weekend. But we were in Baytown. And the sun was shining. We headed up to the old highway since I-10 was still shut down, knowing there would be a lot of traffic there, but we would make it. 3 1/2 hours, the GPS told us.
At first everything was fine. Then we hit a stretch with water over the road. As we progressed, the water got deeper. And deeper. Only one of the two lanes was remotely passable. Again we were silent as we drove, all lost in our own thoughts and offering up our own prayers. I texted a few people to pray—people who later told me they could hear the angst in voice even via text.
Then we hit the town of Nome, Texas, which was literally under water.
And it started to rain.
Miles and miles of driving on a flooded road with only water in view on either side, but we finally made it back to solid ground. Once the imminent danger had passed, when I was thanking God for His mercy toward us, I began to recount all the way in which His comfort had intervened. While in that stressful stretch of road, with the rain pouring and the water on either side rising, one of my friends reminded me of Isaiah 43:2:
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers,
They will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.
Also, I had noticed that the songs on Sirius XM’s The Message ALL talked about rain and flood and rescue THE ENTIRE TIME WE DROVE THROUGH THE WATER!!!
And most of all, I didn’t have a full blown panic attack or even a super high spike in my heart rate. I didn’t lose it, though my stomach roiled throughout the experience.
Five hours after we left Baytown, we arrived in Baton Rouge and loved on our Ivy. Our Airbnb was amazing (I’ll leave that for another post!), and our time there was sweet. Our drive home was slow due to continued closures on I-10, but nothing like the stress we endured on the way there.
We sustained a bit of damage to our car, but we made it. It was a faith-building trip we will never forget. And also one I don’t ever wish to replicate! And yet I now have another story to tell about the faithfulness of God.
(FYI–the pictures are representative of our experience because I was too terrified to think to take any pictures!)
Has there been a moment in your life in which God’s mercy and faithfulness has been on full display? Please testify!
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Yes, I can relate. In 2004, during the time of the Asian Tsunami, my husband and I were on our honeymoon on one of the small Maldives Islands. It was all quite frightening and dramatic, heartbreaking at times. The most scary part was when we had to get in a boat to return to the airport to fly home. This wasn’t a sturdy craft by any stretch of imagination, and the waves weren’t anywhere near small. I had my escape route planned the whole trip, depending on which way the boat went down.
All I could do was recite the 23rd Psalm, “yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow…” I also trusted my husband to keep me safe. God was faithful to quiet my heart and protect us.
Wow! That’s an amazing story, to be sure! And on your honeymoon, too! I love how God gives us the peace we need in the moment we need it. We can’t store it up for the moments. We cry to Him and He is with us. Thank you for sharing!
What an ordeal, Anne! So glad the Lord brought you through safely.
Thank you! We are, too! 🙂
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers,
They will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.”
Beautiful words and they should be made into a song for sure! I write songs and would love to complete this.
Write that song, Cathy! I love scripture songs, and that is a great one!
Wow! We stayed home during Tropical Storm Imelda and missed all your excitement. However, we were grateful that our house didn’t flood!
The first year we were married, my husband and I were in an automobile accident caused by a gentleman who either passed out, fell asleep, had a heart attack, or something of that sort. He ran into the driver’s side diagonally head-on causing our car to spin and then come to a stop on the side of the road out of the lanes of traffic. Since my husband was driving, his side of the car looked like an accordian. We both had cuts and bruises from our heads hitting parts of the car, but our seat belts kept us from flying out the front windshield. As you can imagine, my husband suffered more damage than I did–a broken knee cap. Since the car was totalled, we were blessed to have only suffered relatively minor damage considering the severity of the damage to the automobile.
Fortunately, we were driving an automobile designed for safety. The engine broke off the block and swung UNDER the car, not into my husband. The steering wheel collapsed. The roll bar in the driver’s door was further protection. God really saved us and then blessed us with love, prayers, meals and transportation assistance from our church family.
I’m glad Imelda didn’t get into your house!
And a great story of God’s faithfulness, not only in your protection, but in your community rallying around you. I love it!
Oh wow, Anne! Your tale reminds me of the times in my life when, no matter my determination to fulfill my plans, the Lord had other ideas. 😉 From time to time I’ve had to surrender to the truth that, despite my best laid plans, it’s really only “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15
Yes! My thoughts exactly. I got to that point a little more quickly than my husband did. He was determined we could find a way to our destination. And he was driving, of course. 😉
I have several blizzard stories, but the first was the scariest. It was November, 19667, and we were moving back to Detroit, Michigan, from Texas, (a story in itself.) We had a 9-month-old daughter and were pulling a U-haul with all we owned. This was long before the days of cell phones, GPS, instant weather conditions and safe children’s car seats–you get the picture. As darkness came, we kept going and found ourselves in the middle of a blizzard on a dark, 4-lane highway. We could barely see the road ahead, so we proceeded slowly, not wanting to end up in the ditch like a couple of cars we saw. All we could do was pray and be careful. Finally, a Ramada Inn sign appeared out of the darkness, and we gratefully found refuge for the night.
And I’m truly grateful for the Lord’s kind protection since I was that baby! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story, Anne. I was living in Aransas Pass, TX, 10 miles from Rockport, TX, where Hurricane Harvey hit. I spent the night of the hurricane with my 2 dogs, in my home. (My husband was in a nursing home 2-1/2 hours away 👏 so he was safe.) My 2 dogs & I weathered the storm together. We hunkered down in a closet, sharing a blanket & pillow. All night long, my home alarm system voiced, “back door open.” Of course, neither dog could check to make sure it was closed (and close it if needed) so I volunteered 😱! It was one of the longest, loudest and scariest night of my life. The Lord protected our home and us; the road perpendicular to us lost their roofs (among other things) The next 10 days I had no water, electricity, phone & (duh!) internet so I spent the majority of the day cleaning the brush, branches & trees that had been pulled up from their roots on our 10 acres. Again, God was my peace and strength! El Roi (God who sees) & Jehovah-jirah ( The Lord will provide). And…I hope I don’t go through another hurricane! 😉
Wow! I can imagine it took the strength of the Lord to stay calm in that! Thank you for sharing. I love when we are all encouraged by one another’s stories!