10 Years After the Kansas Flash Flood

Ten years ago today, a flash flood rushed through Jacob Creek, over I-35, the Kansas Turnpike, at mile marker 116 outside of Emporia. It swept away a wife and four children, leaving a husband and father to mourn the loss of his family. And even though he was grieving, he still praised God for His hand on his life.

You can read about Robert Rogers and his family at www.mightyintheland.com. He also wrote a book called, “Into the Deep.” (If you read the book, keep some tissues handy… you WILL cry.)

Thankfully, his story didn’t end there with tragedy. He was blessed with a new wife and four beautiful children.

I hope I never have to suffer such a loss… I don’t know if I could respond the way Robert did. I truly don’t know how anyone makes it through that type of loss.

His story has touched our lives in a very real and unique way, though we didn't know them personally.

Robert and his family had traveled to Wichita from the Kansas City area for a wedding. They went for the day, and they were on their way home when the flood waters washed their van off the highway.

That same day, we set out to Wichita from our home in Blue Springs, MO, a suburb of Kansas City. My brother and his wife were visiting from Phoenix with their three month-old daughter, and we were going to see them. When we got up that morning, it was raining very hard. Jim had just started a job at Quik Trip working overnights and was working part-time at a church. We knew we had to be at church the next morning, so the trip was only a quick one.

Jim was exhausted, so I drove the four hours it took to get to my parents’ house. He slept in the seat across from me, and I prayed the whole time. I had second thoughts about going on this trip the entire 210 miles because the rain was so treacherous. But we arrived at our destination safely and had a great day.

We decided earlier that we would leave to go home at 8:00 p.m. This was not negotiable because we had obligations the next day. In fact, we only took enough pull-ups for the day for our twins, and we took no other clothes at all… not even for the kids.

But as “fate” would have it, we were playing a family game and having so much fun, that we put off going home until 9:00 p.m. As we drove from Wichita on K-96 to the El Dorado turnpike entrance, the weather seemed to get a little better, though it the roads were still wet. When we arrived at the turnpike entrance gate, we were turned away. They said the roads were closed, and we wouldn’t be allowed to enter.

We weren’t sure what to do. We could drive two hours out of our way to I-70 and get home at 2:00 – 3:00 a.m., or we could go back to my parents and leave really early in the morning. We called Mom and Dad and decided to go back to their house, even though we didn’t have pajamas, toothbrushes, anything.

When we got there, our kids were worn out. Jim walked into the house with a sleeping Isaac in his arms. Mom said we were sleeping downstairs, so Jim walked over to the steps. And then something horrible happened. I was standing by the front door on my recovering sprained ankle, and when I watched Jim going to the stairs, I had a horrible sense that something bad was going to happen.

As Jim started down the stairs, he tripped. He fell down the stairs holding Isaac in his arms. My mother let out this horrible cry when she saw it happen… It was probably because she fell down the same stairs a year earlier and broke her ankle.

I started running over there as soon as I saw her face. Isaac’s head hit the wall, and Jim hit his back and couldn’t breathe. He was gasping for breath, and my sister-in-law was thinking clear enough to call 911.

It all happened so fast.

The EMT’s suggested strongly that we go to the hospital and get them checked. So, Dad took us to the emergency room, and they examined Isaac and Jim. Isaac was okay, but Jim injured his back. By the time we returned to my parents’ house, it was 3:30 a.m. Jim slept in my parents’ bed, and I stayed awake all night, making sure my little three-year old baby was okay.

In the morning, we knew we would not make it home in time for church, so we called to let them know. And then we found out what happened on the turnpike in the dark the night before. Almost immediately, we realized that if we would have left at 8:00 when had planned, it could have been us in that flood.

It could have been us.

I drove us home that morning, crying most of the way. My husband and baby fell down the stairs, but they were still alive. Thinking of the agony Robert was going through was almost too much to bear.

And I just kept thinking that it could have been us.

Every time I heard his name or saw his face for the next months, I teared up. I had a hard time talking about it, or even thinking about it, but I prayed for him almost every day. And then he spoke at our church, and we were privileged to meet him. When we shook hands, all I could do was cry while I was telling him we were 30 minutes behind his family on that same road that day.

He was very understanding and compassionate towards me. How ironic! He's the one who suffered the great loss.

But God had a great plan for Robert Rogers. He met a beautiful lady, and she became his wife. They have two sons and two daughters. And he IS a testimony of God’s faithfulness and mercy.

I am reminded of several of the verses in Lamentations 3.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’” (vs. 22-24)

“For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.” (vs. 31-33)

Ten years ago, my eyes were opened in a different way to how fleeting life can be. I watched a man choose to bless God, instead of curse him, for even the losses he suffered, and I had to wrestle with my own beliefs and suppositions. And through the years, I have found, that even in the heartbreaks and misfortunes of life, God CAN be trusted.

Just ask Robert and Inga Rogers!

And me.

Seasons Change

It’s the last weekend before school starts again.

Every year, I have mixed feelings about this weekend. In one way, I know I’m going to miss my kids as they go off to their own lives for the school year. For the summer, they are usually “ours.” Yes, they may see their friends occasionally, but for the most part, they hang out with us. And I have to say this summer was the best summer we have had for many years. I didn’t have a job until three weeks ago, and since Jim is a teacher and off for the summer, we all stayed at the house together.

We started summer break by attempting to read the same book as a family, but that fizzled out when people started planning other things on our “normal” get-together night. So we lost momentum.

We had a chore chart so no one felt like he/she was doing the proverbial “everything.” And for the most part, it worked out pretty well for a few weeks. I think everyone is over it now.

We hung out in our living room and played video games, computer games, and chatted with our friends on social media. We watched the X-Files (beginning with the fourth season and almost through the sixth), Duck Dynasty, Bulloch Family Ranch, old Judging Amy episodes, Under the Dome, Wipeout. We’ve celebrated three family birthdays (Caleb, Jim and me), our 22^nd wedding anniversary, and Noah getting a job (oh, and me, too).

And all this time, we’ve loved and argued and cried and laughed together.

After writing this, I actually find I’m not too glad about school starting up again because I like it when my kids are just mine. I know one day I will have to let them go out into the world, and they will live their lives away from our house… but for now, they can still be our little boys for a little while longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No matter what happens in the future, I know they will always be my boys. And I really hope they can look back on their summers with Mom, Dad and their brothers and say they had a good time. You see, I don't think it's about money or possessions, but about time spent with the ones you love.

They're growing up way too fast. 

It’s my turn in Wii bowling, so I have to go now.

New Pictures from 1991

I tried to add these on our Anniversary... I have them now! Can't tell it's the 90s, huh?

Chris Tomlin's New Song is in My Head

I can’t get it out of my mind.

It’s the new song by Chris Tomlin called “God’s Great Dance Floor.” I’ve heard the story behind it, and it’s based on the prodigal son and his return to his father. Chris explains it best in his video on www.youtube.com.

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Those of us who have come back to the Father after walking away, maybe thinking we knew it all, but finding we don’t, understand the humility we feel coming home. Though we feel like God cannot and/or will not forgive us, or maybe get beyond what we have done, we find Him to be a merciful and loving Father who welcomes us with open arms.

Luke 15:11-32 is where you can read this story. The Bible does not call the father bitter, unforgiving, or even angry. The father was “filled with compassion” for his son because he was alive, and he was found.

Can you imagine? There he was, working in the field. Some the workers might have seen the reckless son coming, and they were talking and whispering, pointing, possibly. Maybe they took bets on what the father would do when he got a glimpse of the son who had demanded his inheritance and squandered it.

And here came the son. He was desperate for food and resources. He knew he was wrong, and rather than continue to live in the state of poverty he drove himself into, he humbled himself and hoped his father would have enough benevolence to allow him to be treated as a servant. How did he feel when he got a glimpse of his father before his father saw him? And what did he think when he saw his Dad running to him with his arms open wide?

I don’t know about you, but if I was that son or daughter, I would crumble in a heap of sobs and tears to find out that my father forgave me for my juvenile and prideful behavior. But to know, really know, he still loved me and wanted to celebrate my return? Wow!

While this story Jesus told was not a “true” story, it is a parable based on God the Father’s response to us when we are found by Him. For those of us who believe God sent His son for our redemption, we know (but don’t fully fathom) the cost associated with our freedom, and we are grateful.

If you have a hard time believing that God could come into your life and change it from the inside out, that He could never forgive you for what you’ve done, all you have to do is be found. And you will “come alive on God’s Great Dance Floor.”

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22 Years and Counting

Yesterday was our 22^nd Anniversary.

When Jim wrote on Twitter yesterday that he “married a girl he barely knew,” it struck me like it never has before. We only knew each other for 4 months before we married (April – August). Even though we hardly knew each other, the familiarity was striking.

22 years of being together and fighting the odds… The hardships of old baggage and old lovers, Endometriosis and possible infertility, everything physically and emotionally that comes along with not waiting until marriage for intimacy.

The wanting, and even trying, to walk away from something that was so scary and personal and hard.

In fact, we split up 4 times in our first 2 years of marriage. The thing that held us together was the crimson thread of Jesus that was woven tightly through all we were apart and together.

That is the reason we are still together today.

We have fought many battles, some of which have driven us to our knees in despair. These things could have split us apart, but instead, they have pushed us even closer together.

For all these years, and except for the moments and days of the birth of our sons, the last 4 years have been the best. While they have started off on a rocky note, they have been a new start for us after the truth really set us free to be the couple we were made to be.

If we would have given up, we would have missed out on so much.

The realization that God IS who He says He is.

That when you believe in what He calls you to, it may not be what you think it is.

If you trust Him for your life’s adventure, He will take you to places that are not comfortable and fun and always happy.

But there will be a great joy that overtakes you and gives you reason to keep pressing towards the goal.

We would have missed out on the overwhelming feeling of love and joy that came over us when we saw our sons for the first time. The sorrow that is mingled with the sweetness that comes from watching them grow into young men. The hope that they will become great and compassionate men who chase after Jesus Christ with all they are.

And the faith that grows when we trust God with our family.

We could have gone our separate ways, and never fulfilled what was truly planned for us. The blessings and hardships often coexist. We find that these “trials of many kinds” shave off the rough edges, bend the heart into the shape of grace and mercy and love.

We are not perfect, and our journey has been far from it. But I can say, without doubt, Jim is the “best” man who could have been the other half of me. We are so different, but so much alike in so many ways.

To say I am grateful is a severe understatement. I am thankful beyond measure for the husband God gave to me, the children who were so graciously given to us, and the life that God has blessed us with.