On April 27th, 2011, epic tornadoes ripped through the South and across the country. Like many others, our town was hit. Hard.
A year later, the devastation is still ever-present. Our old walking path is filled with crumbled homes, empty lots, bare foundations, stripped trees and a debris-filled pond. My heart goes up for those whose lives were forever changed by the storm.
Tornado warnings are no longer taken lightly. Instead, sheer panic threatens my heart when the sirens go off. My mind is filled with all the “what ifs.”
But as I look back on last year’s tornado, the many mini-miracles that litter the story remind me that God is in control. He holds our future in His hands. Whatever happens, I don’t need to panic.
(What sound does a train make? Okay, keep that in mind.)
A tiny closet and how God uses our ignorance
The night before the tornado, thunderstorms rattled our home. I woke up and immediately my hormone-charged pregnant brain started racing.
A huge, ancient tree stands in our front yard. As the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed all around us, waking nightmares ripped through my mind. I pictured the tree crashing through the roof and pinning us in bed, unable to help our little ones.
I cried and prayed and begged God not to let the tree fall on us.
The next morning dawned beautiful and calm. The tree stood strong. The fears of the night before seemed like silly reactions of a pregnant mama.
The weather channel warned of impending tornadoes of epic proportion, but all seemed beautiful outside.
We live in tornado alley and tornado warnings are a dime a dozen. Joshua left for school and I went about my day, and just kept an eye on the weather.
As the afternoon progressed, the warnings became more and more urgent.
Since even our bathroom has a window, I closed the hallway doors, cleared out the hall closet, and propped crib mattresses over it. There was no telling how long the warning might last, so I gathered water and fun snacks and the kids and I hunkered down.
Just as the weather reporter assured us the tornado should miss our town (but to stay in shelter anyway, “just in case”) the power went out. The interent and cell towers were down too.
The kids snuggled deeper into the closet and I squeezed my pregnant self as near to them as I could. We ate snacks, told stories and watched a movie on the ipod.
Through the muffling pile of mattresses and blankets I listened. Listened and prayed (mostly about that tree!)
A crashing, rumbling sound passed by our house and it sounded like it took the kitchen with it. Wow! That wind sounds strong. Maybe the tornado will hit our town after all. I thought. After the panic and prayers of the night before, a strange peace had filled my heart.
But I kept listening for a train sound. I never heard it.
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