Sometimes the hardest thing in life is moving forward. Trudging on when the going gets tough and the mud is deep.

It’s been an emotional week here in Atlanta. It started with my nephew’s second birthday party last weekend, a joyous event. Seeing family and friends is always fun.

The drive back was wet. No other way to put it. It rained the entire time. We stopped at the Dog Bakery in downtown Greenville to get Hunter some special goodies. I, of course, forgot my umbrella this trip. So it was a wet fast run into the shop and back out to the car. We took refuge in a nearbye parking deck so Hunter could eat his treats. And then it was back on the road, wipers constantly in motion.

Upon arriving home we discovered Hunter was out of dogfood so a trip to Walmart was in order. At the time it had stopped raining so, of course, we forgot the umbrella again.

And after checking out realized we needed one in the worst way. You see, it was raining buckets and just wouldn’t let up. We resigned ourselves to getting wet and made a run for it.

The hours that followed were astonishing. It continued to pour. Water began to rise. And the backyard was lost beneath inches of water. The neighbor’s have a creek across the back part of their property and I looked out the window to see a flood. There’s no other way to describe it. A river. Raging, with white water. The “creek” had risen at least 12 (yes, twelve) feet…flooded the surrounding areas and just kept raging.

Astonishing.

On a rain free moment we trecked out, got plenty wet and were amazed at the power of Mother Nature.

Mother Nature was only getting started.

By Monday, the perfect storm would take the lives of 4 people. By Tuesday, 9 people. The city of Atlanta and surrounding counties would see flood waters like they’d never seen before. Roads and bridges washed away. Highways under water.

For a while, we were stranded. Our neighborhood is on the crest of a hill, surrounded on both sides by creeks. So when the waters rose and poured over the road, there was no way out. No going to the store. No way to get an ambulance to a pregnant neighbor should her baby decide to arrive two weeks early.

And when the waters finally receeded and the sun came out all that was left was mud. And plenty of cleanup. Many people without homes. Students out of school.

Sometimes I wonder about things. About passion and purpose. About life. And marvel how hard it is to move forward. To keep going when faced with adversity. I am not a fan of conflict.

It’s so easy to look at the past and remember the good times. Long for the easy days. It’s so hard to look forward, not knowing what the future holds.

But when all is said and done, I find the best thing to do is meet it head on. Turn on a favorite soundtrack, get out a notepad, make my to do list, and take on that challenge. Anything less is…unacceptable.