Chapelle teen weathers her family’s storm

On the afternoon of Aug. 29, as the wind whipped through my neighborhood, I was rescued by the National Guard. They arrived at my house in boats because six to seven feet of water rushed into the LaPlace area when Hurricane Isaac came strolling through the southern part of Louisiana. More than two feet of water seeped into my house.

When my family and I were rescued that Wednesday afternoon, my father decided to stay behind to take care of our two dogs and two cats and our house. My two sisters, my mom and I were brought to multiple evacuation stations along Highway 51, which was partially submerged in floodwaters.
At one stop – New Wine Fellowship Church on Airline Highway in LaPlace – I met a young lady who had graduated from Archbishop Chapelle the same year as my cousin. When I informed my mother, Amy Lambert, of this, she became excited and asked the young woman if she knew my cousin. Actually, we learned they were close friends and, because of this, we were able to get word to our family where we were and that we were OK.
As we waited to hear the next step of our evacuation, I noticed that my clothes were drenched with rain, and I needed to change my shirt. I searched for a dry shirt in the bag of clothing that I had rapidly thrown together when the boats arrived at my house. I grabbed a blue shirt from the bottom of the bag and did not realize what shirt it was until I arrived at a shelter in Shreveport around 1 p.m. the next afternoon.
But, as I was sitting in the shelter, my mother noticed I was wearing my Archbishop Chapelle High School sophomore retreat shirt that stated, “God Will Provide,” in large white letters across the back. I had no idea that those three words would completely redefine my outlook on the entire situation. After three hours at the Shreveport shelter, my grandparents came to pick us up. We were reunited with my dad later that evening at my grandparents’ River Ridge home.

Although the effects of Hurricane Isaac have been difficult to handle and are emotionally trembling to bring to mind, I see this experience as a way to grow spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and in so many more ways. God has taken this natural disaster and turned it into an opportunity to truly appreciate life and discover what we are called to do while we are here on earth.
We, as God’s children, are called to love one another as he loves us, to share in the happiness of our friends and to comfort them in times of sorrow and struggle. Looking back at this life-altering experience I can say that Hurricane Isaac, in many ways, was more of a blessing than a burden.
Throughout this disaster, God has shown my family and me the love that he has for us. He has given us an opportunity to see the good that he has placed in this world through all of the wonderful people he has brought into our lives to give us courage and strength.
Even though my house was flooded and many of my personal items were lost, I have seen the love in people’s hearts and the greatness of God that many people usually do not experience in a lifetime. “God Will Provide” has been said to me thousands of times as part of Chapelle’s motto, but I did not fully understand the meaning until I was evacuated into a shelter and looked to him with my whole heart and said, “God, help me, please! Help me understand!”
I know now he will continue to help me through this entire challenge and throughout the rest of my life.
Devyn Lambert is a senior at Archbishop Chapelle High School in Metairie. She is currently living at her grandparents’ River Ridge home and hopes to return to her home in LaPlace by Christmas.