Cedar Rapids Flooding...the mourning begins....

O Lord, You are our God. We trust You. We believe You. No matter what our eyes see, we believe. You are good. You are gracious. You are our God.

Now the questions begin. My own children are asking, "Why did God do this?" I know there are many who ask, "How could God allow this?" So, now, I am praying for wisdom to talk to my children and anyone who questions.....

I only have a few moments right now, so I am going to share just a few thoughts I have had this morning.

There is such a "trickle down" affect of the flooding. Because water levels are critical, many businesses have been asked to close- car washes and laundromats. Many restaurants have closed or are serving on paper plates and not serving water. Let that sink in. Imagine if this were your family business and you depended on business to live. Because this is the weekend, many of these businesses earn most of the week's profits on the weekend. These are areas of the city that weren't flooded, but because we are only operating at 25% capacity, we are in a critical situation with conservation.

With the flooding, there were 1,000 city blocks that were flooded. I did not put in an extra zero- that was one thousand city blocks. The whole downtown area was affected. We have two hospitals (Mercy was flooded), but also the downtown area is the "hub" for the medical community. Most doctors offices- ENTs, family practices, eye clinics are all located downtown. I was thinking about our doctor's office this morning. My kids have appointments later this month, will the office be open?

Cedar Rapids has a beautiful downtown and there has been much money and energy poured into renovating the downtown area. The federal courthouse is downtown. There were new high-end apartment high rises built, parking garages, convention center, restaurants, museums, brand new YMCA building....

The waters have gone down today. One ray of hope was on May's Island. It is a little island between 1st Ave. bridge and 2nd Ave. bridge that hosts many picnics, celebrations, band concerts. Some of the water has gone down and the trees are still standing! Thank You, God!

Many neighborhoods still have 4-12 feet of water. The current is so strong that boats can not get to the homes yet.

The impact affects us all, even in small ways. Interstate 80 has 2 hour detour around the flooding. I-380 has a 3+ hour detour around flooding.

Next week would begin the city's 2 week celebration of the 4th of July- the Freedom Festival. There is the BBQ round-up, festivals in the city parks, parades..... This is such a huge thing for the city- bringing visitors from several other states. School bands and dance companies that have been practicing to perform for months.... These celebrations have brought the community together, making wonderful memories for our children.

Just starting to get a feeling of what kind of impact this will have on our city......

"He gives strength to the weary."- Isaiah 40:29

"Praise be to the LORD, to God, our Savior, who daily bears our
burdens." -Psalm 68:19

Please pray for the communities that are down river. This is just beginning for them. Coralville, Iowa City, cities in Illinois, Missouri.....

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