I've lived in East Texas my entire life. This week has been devastating for our state. The storm may be over but the recovery is just starting. The last time I remember weather this bad is what my area calls the Ice Storm of 2000 or 2001, the year is kind of a fuzzy memory in my head because I was pretty young. I want to thank God that my family never lost our lights and even though we lost our water that the pipe that burst was outside and not in the house. I want to thank God that we all made it. Because some people lost everything including their lives. Our state was severely unprepared for this kind of weather. Watching videos and seeing pictures of all the damage and devastation some people suffered through breaks my heart and brings tears to my eyes. So many people went without electricity for days in below zero temperatures, most had no water, a lot were flooded out of their homes, our gas stations ran out of gas and our stores ran out of food because the roads were so bad the trucks couldn't get through. So I ask for prayers for those who lost everything, for those who lost their lives or lost loved ones, for those who are now homeless, or have electricity bills in the $1000s,for those without food, for the roads to get cleared and be safe enough so that we don't starve.I ask for prayers as we as a state try to get back to as normal as we can. It's going to be a long road.