Dear Reader:

When I read this phrase the other day “Which is the worst? To be locked in or out?” …it made me pause and think about the statement. (I re-read it again while trying to decide if one situation is preferable to another.)

As we go back down our childhood memory lane…don’t we all remember feeling (at one time or another) that we were “locked out” of the neighborhood gang, or classroom cliques, or sports teams, cheerleading, etc. (whatever it was that we wanted so desperately to be a part of…)

It is never fun being on the outside looking in is it?

Flip side…Haven’t we all had those days when we feel trapped, ‘locked in’ to a situation or circumstance that leaves us feeling isolated from the rest of life?

Perhaps it is a physical disability or ailment that has cropped up limiting our ability to do all the things we used to do prior to it’s appearance. We find ourselves, for the first time feeling ‘stuck’ in life, locked in …cast out from the mainstream of socialization and a sense of belonging.

Many of us who are in the path of Hurricane Irma are now waiting and wondering if we will need to leave or can we stay? The populace is always divided along these lines with every hurricane or tropical storm that comes our way. Last year it was Matthew…now Irma. Thank goodness with Matthew the lowcountry didn’t get the brunt of the storm so everyone made it through fine…on both sides. But every storm is different and even with all the modern technology…hurricanes still are unpredictable until they actually arrive.

The emotional side of making that decision is a toss-up too. Part of everyone wants to hunker down and be home to check on things and be ready to start repairs if needed…while the other side wants to lock it all up and leave it for whatever happens…coming home with fingers crossed and a knot in the stomach. It’s hard not knowing and then, later, it can be hard knowing.

*In the meantime…to put a slight spin  on this excerpted verse of scripture:(Matthew 24:6) “And ye shall hear of storms and rumors of storms; see that ye be not troubled…” These days everybody is a weatherman…you can’t go anywhere without hearing someone in line telling a complete stranger…”The National Weather Service says the hurricane will be downgraded to a 1 or 2 tropical storm by the time it gets to Charleston while another person farther back in line is telling a fellow wait-er….that he has heard we are now at a category 6 (now that’s a new one on me and the weather men I believe.) We must all keep a sense of humor.

So until tomorrow: Locked in or locked out?  Once again we must turn to faith in times like these for God to guide us through the storm until the sun returns. *I think I will fall back on that beautiful rainbow that smiled down on Walsh and Mollie’s (almost) new home last week…and pray that God’s covenant keeps us all safe from harm with as little damage as possible

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“Today is (still) my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Wednesday night…two gorgeous blooms…one Moonflower and one Jamestown bloom…both beautiful in their own right.

Yesterday Fall arrived for us…perhaps a gift before the storm…but the humidity has disappeared and I can’t stay inside for the luxurious coolness awaiting me outside. But more on that tomorrow…Summerville has never been more beautiful!