As Texas was pounded by Hurricane Harvey, Gov. Greg Abbott tried to be the calm within the storm.
"Well, it is important to keep the focus, and the focus is on helping our fellow Texans, and helping them through their tragedy. And as a person who has suffered tragic consequences myself, I understand and am empathetic for what they are dealing with," Abbott said.
In the 12 days after Harvey made landfall, the governor seemed to be everywhere — visiting operations centers and seeing all of the cities that were impacted. He accompanied both the president and the vice president when they came to Texas. And at the same time, Abbott was dealing with his own emotions as a born and raised Texan.
"It is sad and devastating. I lived in Houston, Texas, for 12 years, and I lived in areas that were completely inundated," he said.
But like other times in his life where Abbott has faced challenges, he again turned to his faith.
"I always look to God as my guidepost on how to respond, and that was prayer for the state, prayer to God for guidance and wisdom, as well as strength to make sure we that have the strength and capability of responding," Abbott said. "And if you take a step back, and look at the big picture of what happened, the inspiration that Texans provided — not just to our fellow Americans, but to the entire world — is a demonstration of the humanity that God represents."
Abbott said his reaction to seeing people rescuing neighbors was one of pride but not surprise.
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"This was a typical Texas response. Whenever Texans face tragedy, Texans rush to the danger to help others out from that danger. And so whether it be our tremendous first responders, or neighbor helping neighbor, or stranger helping stranger, this is what Texas is all about."
Hurricane Harvey hit Texas right after the special session of the Texas Legislature ended, completing a pair of contentious sessions for lawmakers in Austin.
"Really what happens, and this is kind of maybe hard for people to understand, but when an emergency happens, your focus on anything else just stops, and you have keen, unequivocal focus on responding to the urgent needs at the time," Abbott said.
It was that urgency that kept Abbott going for 20 hours a day, and the response in Texas inspired a nation.
It was a reminder, Abbott said, that the worst can sometimes bring out the best in us.
"It didn't matter who you were, what your background was, if you were rich or poor, if you were black or white. Everyone came together to help each other out. This is what God intends for the world," he said.
