“As I sat waiting for the wind...” - Karen McDaniel

October 3, 2020

“In the quiet before the storm, I sat quietly waiting. At once, I was suddenly aware that the color of the sky was changing. It was pink and purple. It is called the calm before the storm. I snapped this pic just before Ian's descent as it struck the peninsula with 85 mile an hour winds. The most intriguing part was listening to the St. Michael’s bells. They rang a continuous warning to prepare. It was urgent, yet inspiring. St Michael’s was the mother church in our land of religious freedom. Named after the Archangel of Revelation 12:7-12, where he does battle with Satan and casts him out of heaven, so that he no longer has access to God as accuser. In Luke 22:31 Jesus takes on this role. In a time of turmoil, more than ever we need to guard our freedoms. It was a reminder of those who have gone before us to give us liberty and the price they paid for it. It isn’t just history, it’s alive today and I am a guardian of it here in the Laurens/Rutledge house. Awed and humbled, I never knew, until I walked in their footsteps and lived it too. More intriguing still is…Ian means ‘God is gracious’. May we guard our national treasure FREEDOM with all our hearts.