It's amazing how awesome God's power is and the ways that He shows that power to His people.
This morning I woke up because the weather was so bad. The fact that I woke up in the middle of the night shows His enormous power in and of itself considering the fact that I sleep like a rock. Anyway... I turned on the television to see if we had any bad weather going through Pike County (because I needed a meteorologist to tell me that thunder and lightening so loud and bright to wake me up was in fact bad weather) but all I saw was updates about Simpson County and Magee. From what I could tell the spotted tornado was on a direct path for my parents' home. Worried that I might wake them up, I contemplated calling. Then I decided it was me or the tornado and they probably would rather hear it from me. So I called and mom told me the power had gone out in the last minute or two. I still didn't really think anything of it because they seemed fine. They didn't say anything about the "freight train" sound all the rednecks from the trailor park talk about when the news reporters interview the small town's finest tornado survivors. The cell phones were working... I mean, as long as that's working, what other problems could there be? I called a few more friends and continued to watch the news. Everyone seemed to be ok and I called mom and dad back after the weather man said the tornado was out of Simpson County. They were fine, as were my other friends. No big deal.
This morning after I got up and tried to begin getting dressed I was swamped with phone calls from friends and family. I hadn't even turned on the television, so I had no clue how wrong I was about this tornado. My aunt called to see if I had heard from mom and dad. She said she heard a church building had been flattened. I looked online to see what I could find about that. There is a huge church with a very nice, seemingly sturdy brick building right down the road, but I thought surely it couldn't be that one. I found an article from the Clarion Ledger said the tornado touched down at the intersection of Riley Road and Highway 28--one half mile from my parents house—another half-mile from that church. I didn't want to believe it, but knew it was probably true. It was just so scary to think such severe damage was done a mile from their home.
Knowing it was a bad situation, I tried calling them several times. I could never get anyone. That is one of the scariest feelings ever experienced. Helplessness. Uncertainty. Fear. I knew I would be good for nothing at work until I knew everyone was ok back home. So I decided to Magee. In my head, I thought things were probably ok since I had talked to them after the tornado had passed, but that was no relief to my heart. I wanted to talk to them and hear it again just to be certain. I threw on some clothes, ran by the school to get some stuff ready for my kids and tell my principal, and I was on my way. While I was driving my mom did call and that was such a relief. I just kept going though since I was already on my way. I wanted to see my daddy.
No one can ever be the least bit prepared to see such damage. The church was flattened. Roofs were ripped off houses. Garages were ripped off houses. Walls were ripped off houses. Houses were ripped from the foundations. Cars were upside down. Cars were gone completely. Mobile homes were unidentifiable. It was worse than I could have ever imagined.
The crazy thing about this tornado was how long it did damage. I've been around for several tornados in my lifetime, but nothing of this magnitude. Usually they hit an isolated area and dissipate. This one stormed from one side of Magee to the other. And Magee isn't a huge town, but I think the news said the path of destruction was around 17 miles. And every mile of that was catastrophic.
The amazing thing about this situation is that there have been no fatalities. Thirty six homes were completely destroyed. Twenty nine homes had severe damage. Around forty had moderate damage. Yet no one was killed or even had critical injuries.
The outpouring of support and concern is amazing. I talked to friends and family all day long--some of whom I hadn't spoken with in months. You never realize how comforting something as simple as hearing an old friend's voice or getting texts that say "thinking of and praying for you" can be. Support from inside the community is awesome. Volunteers already had a shelter open for victims. Crews were already working to get tarps on homes. The phone lines were overloaded with concerned friends and family. These people are doing what they can to help one another out of the kindness and goodness of their hearts. Support from surrounding communities is also arriving. Seeing all the volunteers is inspiring. In a world so focused on negative things--the war, the economy, crime and violence--we are so blessed to be able to see the positive things and good people. I'm thankful for that.
I hate that anyone of these families have experienced such tragedy and I would never wish it upon anyone, but everyone learns from these experiences. We learn never to take anything for granted--you never know when it might be taken from you. We learn to help others, not to get recognition, but because it’s the right thing to do. We learn that a church is not the building, it's the people that fill that building. We learn that God has infinite power and wisdom that completely supersedes our understanding. The hands that made a storm so strong and powerful to rip a home from its foundation, were the same hands that covered and protected those families inside. I can't say that I know why God chose such destruction, but I trust He has a plan far beyond my comprehension. Maybe some soul will come to Him as a result of this. Maybe He wanted to remind people to reach out and not take things for granted. Heck, maybe He saw that the construction business was in a slump in Magee and this was His stimulus plan. My point is, I don't know, and I never will, but I will trust Him and continue to praise him for this day and all the other blessings he has so generously given me.
Thanks to all of you who called, texted, emailed, and prayed. It made the process so much more bearable. Please continue to pray for the people of Magee. They have a long road to recovery.
=P
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. -- Psalm 118:24
No comments:
Post a Comment