The sky turned green, the sirens wailed, the winds roared, and fear rose in our hearts. We frantically called family and warned that they were in the path, to take cover, and we ourselves dashed downstairs. It all happened so quickly. And whoosh....it was dark...it was still.....and we knew we had survived a disaster.
But our neighbors would not fair as well. There was an immediate sense that this was something big, really big. Deep concern began to set in. Flashing lights on the emergency vehicles are the only sign of light in the darkened neighborhood. Sirens are beginning to sound from every direction, and they grow louder and louder. I try to drive up the street to see what has happened, and there are people everywhere walking around with disbelief painted on their faces. I can't make it out of the neighborhood driving, so I go home and we decide to wait till daybreak and go it on foot to assess the damage and see what we can do to help.
An F4 tornado struck our community on Good Friday, traveling eerily along my normal 10,000 step walking route. Now we can only travel about 2,000 steps before we are stopped by the police lines. The police have the street blocked, the power lines are down, transformers are resting in the tree branches, many trees are lying across the road, on roofs, branches and 2x4s jutting out of the earth as if they were javelins.
Daylight would reveal the overwhelming damage done in our community. Homes have been flattened. Vehicles tossed upside down and resting precariously on edge. Highways and byways remain impassable as semi's lay on their side stretching across all four lanes. Total subdivisions are destroyed. Memories of lifetimes are scattered everywhere. You can see for miles where trees once blossomed and obscured the view. Businesses have lost their walls, their roofs, just like the nearby homes.
Beneath the drown of helicopters overhead and the chainsaws all around, we begin to see for ourselves the damage. The baby cribs and stairways remain the only structures standing in the midst of drywall, 2x4s, and roof shingles. You can see the clear path of destruction on either side of the highways. It's amazing that everyone survived. It's a miracle! I look to the sky. God, I am humbled by the might of the winds. I am awestruck by your mercy.
In the midst of such times, we recognize that we are not in control of our life, that our world is spinning out of control....In such times, we realize that our God is mighty and able to save. We realize that we are weak, but he is strong. We come up against our own limitations. Our raw vulnerability has been exposed like a gaping open wound. We wonder in our frailty and insufficiency what we can do.
For those of us who know God and believe that Jesus saves, we hope in God's strength and mercy. We believe he will find a way out of the storm. We cling to the mighty cross...the cross on Calvary. We call upon our God. We praise his holy name because he is worthy of all praise and honor!
Now, then, how can we serve our neighbors? How can we demonstrate our love for them? God's love for them? We feel so insignificant. A 30x30 tarp and a box of cupcakes in our hands, we can't even make it past the police line to help. So, we come home and pray. We talk about what we might be able to do. We manage our own extended power outages, and call our friends and family. Have you all made it through okay?
We are so small... God is so big.....
Monday school was closed as the roads were still blocked and power outages were still affecting our bus routes and schools power. So we spent the day together....Grandma and us. We usually spend our time together making crafts. We wanted to help the people who have no homes, so we decided to be a ray of hope in the rainbow after the storm.
Olivia came up with the idea, "then came the rainbow", the promise God made between Himself and all the people of this world that He would never again destroy the world with a flood of water. It is His sign of hope. It is His promise of salvation for the generations that came after Noah. It is His way to remind us that He has us in His hand and we can trust him through the storms of life.
So trust we do. With generator, and extension cords running throughout the house, we set up our makeshift rainbow workshop in hopes of sharing God's hope with others. To God be the glory!
You can share your own ray of hope with a beautiful handcrafted flower headband, hair clip, ponytail holder or pen. All donations will go to a family(s) who has been made homeless by this storm. Thank you for helping us share God's love with others. Here's our rays of hope!
http://cid-cb04484d902c214a.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/rainbow%20workshop
Thank you God for your protection, provision, and promises in the midst of life's storms.
I do set my bow in the cloud,
and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth,
that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant,
which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh;
and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it,
that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and
every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 9:13-16
