Lazy Acres Center Point, Iowa
In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” Then Jacob prayed . . . ~ Genesis 32:7-9a It’s hard to face an uncertain future; even frightening at times. Jacob knows God’s covenant promise that was handed down from his grandfather Abraham, through his father Isaac, and to him. He knows that God has sent him back to his ‘hometown’. He knows (as far as I speculate) that God’s angels gave him a message to meet with his brother Esau. But now, he also knows that Esau is coming to meet him – accompanied by 400 men. And Jacob remembers that when they parted 20 years ago, he was literally running for his life. And so he’s afraid – not just afraid, terrified. And who could blame him? We get afraid when we have to face “little” fears, like witnessing to our friends, family or neighbors. Or asking for forgiveness for a wrong we’ve committed against someone else – whether real or perceived. And we know God is faithful. He’s proved it over and over in our lives. So Jacob acts, and does what he can to try to save at least part of his entourage, and provide for his family in the event of his demise. And he prays.
We had a four hour, 242 mile journey planned. Today’s goal was to stay ahead of the severe weather moving slowly toward our destination. Thanks to Blaine’s excellent foresight and planning, we made it, but just barely.
Unfortunately, the ‘just barely’ part is not only referring to the storm. Once again, Blaine had to lay on the horn as some ill-informed gentleman decided to race us at an on-ramp – his on-ramp. I noticed him flying up fast in his plain white straight truck and warned Blaine he wasn’t slowing down.
Due to construction, there was only one lane, and we were in it. And when you’re driving a bus at 45mph, you don’t just stop on a dime. For the other guy’s part, his ramp was more like a stop than a merge, only he wasn’t stopping! Not until we were right on top of him anyway. Thanks to the grace of God, we escaped but it was really close. The guy was sitting sideways up against the concrete barrier as we nosed past him. Not to mention, we could’ve been rear-ended by whomever was behind us. Good gravy! I wish I’d had the wherewithal to take his picture, but I was too busy fearing for my life.
Other than that, it was a pretty boring drive, but windier the further along we went.
We watched the sky towards our left rear continue to darken exponentially, the closer we got to the campground.
Weather report still says we have close to an hour before the storm hits.
Just enough time to get the place set up and cleaned.
Hollywood Casino Hotel and Campground, Joliet, Illinois
This campground is actually on casino-owned property, so check-in was at the hotel lobby. We’re spending the next for nights at the Hollywood Casino. For those of you with our itinerary, the plans changed from Leisure Lakes Resort, so don’t be confused.
We arrived and had everything in order with time to spare. And we watched the sky become more and more ominous. The wind picked up, our phones started blaring alerts, nearby warning sirens were going off, and the clouds began roiling; the sky taking on a ghastly green color. We checked local weather and they were telling people to prepare for a tornado and a very severe storm.
We checked the sky one more time when the pellets of rain began, and decided it was best to vacate the premises and head for the hotel lobby. We weren’t the only ones. People kept coming in with their dogs. It was kinda noisy in there as the dogs whined and the owners cajoled, but there was plenty of room for people to spread out. You couldn’t really see out, but then I guess that’s the point of sheltering from a storm, isn’t it? It got pretty gnarly there for a bit, but in about 30 minutes, it was over except for some rain, so we went back home and had dinner.
That’s why the picture’s blurry. I’m not a very good spy. : )
Here it comes! The worst is just beginning.
We learned the next day that a tornado touched down just nine miles west of us. It took down some trees and damaged the school. There were also places that experienced baseball-sized hail!
Speaking of storms, remember the place we saw our first rodeo? Hart Ranch? When we stayed at the Hermosa campground for 30 days? Near Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore, etc.? Well, Blaine learned from one of his RV sites he checks out every once in a while, one of those major storms that came through after we left for Badlands, pretty much decimated their place – 80% of the buildings were destroyed, and most of the campers were too. Baseball-sized hail again. In the case of the motorhomes like ours, the hail smashed their skylights (like ours) and that allowed the rain to pour in, in addition to the damage done by the hail hitting them in other places. Scary weather out here!
We’re so very grateful that God continues to spare us!