Under His Wings Part 1

In April 1963, I had been blessed with a handsome baby boy, weighing nine pounds, one ounce. Monday, September 30, dawned like any other morning. It was raining, and since this was our rainy season, it appeared as a normal day.

My husband, Joey, had transported children to school and returned home. He mentioned he suspected it would rain all day.

Not having a television or weather radio, we went about our indoor duties. The baby was sleeping, and I was trying to complete my chores before he woke up. Joey was in another room, reading and napping. I happened to look outside and saw trees swaying wildly; I realized something strange was happening.

I woke up Joey and told him. He responded, “Oh, it’s just raining hard with some wind.” He went back to sleep while I worked quickly to finish my cooking. Around 11:45 a.m., I heard a loud noise. It was not thunder or lightning! I called out to Joey excitedly, telling him that trees were falling everywhere, and avocados, mangoes, and coconuts were on the ground. He got up, prayed, dressed quickly, and went to check on his car.

Our very modest home was surrounded by trees and located in a hilly village called Mary’s Hill, on the island of Tobago. Joey had parked the car a distance from the house due to the rain. He returned thirty minutes later with news that the car was OK, but the roofs of some of our neighbors’ houses had blown off! He was very concerned about his parents’ home, which was also surrounded by trees.

They lived three miles from us, and we had no telephone to call them. The falling trees had blocked the roads, making them impassable, so my husband decided to walk to his parents’ home to check on them. Meanwhile, the sun came out and shone in its full radiance, and the sky was blue once again.

Now a quiet, comforting, gentle breeze blew.

Then, amazingly, on Joey’s way to his parents’ house, the storm returned with a vengeance. But God protected us. We still thank Him for His goodness and for sending His angels to cover us. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7, KJV).