Saturday, April 30, 2011

TORNADO! TORNADO! TORNADO!

 Instead of "TORA! TORA! TORA!", people in Alabama are screaming, "TORNADO!TORNADO! TORNADO!"! Unless you live under a rock somewhere,  you have heard about the biggest and most destructive tornado of all time that hit ALABAMA last Wednesday. Headlines in the "Birmingham News" said: "EPIC DESTRUCTION". Heat, moisture, unstable winds led to this deadly tornado.  The Gulf brought in heavy moisture with dew points in the low 70's and temps topping 85 degrees. That's just fuel for the tornado. But, this wasn't the usual big thunderstorm with a random tornado thrown in. NO, this was a SUPERCELL tornado.  They have updrafts and downdrafts.  THis one was raging in at 100 mph and over a mile wide. Watching live on TV was frightening. And then the T.V.'s went out. BOOM. Silence and SIRENS. That spells F-E-A-R in ones heart, for sure.They call it a "once in a lifetime event". I hope it's the LAST event of it's kind I will ever see!


 So, there's really nothing but the TORNADO on the minds of almost all of ALABAMIANS, if not the whole country, right now as has been since last Wednesday. As all here in 'Bama know, we've been through nothing short of a nightmare for the past 3 days. Everyone knows SOMEONE who was affected.  We all seen so connected ."So and So's cousin's brother was killed". Or, "my nephew's home was leveled". Or "my friend's sister lost her life and her husband is in ICU" and on it goes. And the horror stories of children in the hospital that are not with parents, crying and scared and hurt. We, here in 'Bama, realize that :"there by the grace of God, walk-ith I".  And so many of us  it IS "I". Yes, it could've been any one of us, here in Alabama, that could've lost our homes/our land and the ultimate: our lives. For many, even though they took precautions, there was  just no way  they could've survived. The winds were just TOO STRONG and the tornado could not be stopped. The count continues to rise, I think 212  at last count ,  have lost their lives, and so many more unaccounted for, that number will surely rise. It has been a horrible last 3 days, horrible in the sense we are suffering for our friends and family. The face of our state has changed forever.


Today, Terry left before dawn to go to McDonald's Chapel with  his best friend, Donnie, and and a few others, to help chop down trees in a rural area where help had not been yet. He was gone almost 11 hours. He came back with a sunburn/weary face and exhausted. He kept saying, "you can't believe it unless you see it". SLABS where, only a week ago,  houses were sitting, now NOTHING. Houses that have huge trees, sometimes as many as 4 trees, on top of homes that they were helping cut off. Destruction. Mass destruction. And yet, and YET, miraculous stories intertwined with pain and suffering. We, in Alabama, are suffering. Our people are hurting. Our land has become unrecognizable.  Our hearts are burning with sadness and deep pain for our family and friends. Mostly family. Because in Alabama we ARE family. We are connected deeply and absolutely. We are more than just a state full of strangers. We are a state where we call each other family. Yes, there have been (and still are) racial lines at times. Yes, we are insanely crazy about our football here. Yes, we have jokes about whether you're going to heaven unless you're a: Baptist/Methodist or Catholic. (and all those others! LOL). Yes, we have funny accents. Yes, we're sometimes an island amongst ourselves. Yes, we are proud of our state. And, yes, we are a state that is rich in FAMILY/FAITH/LOVE.
 YES, I'm proud to be one of those folks! I'm proud to be from ALABAMA!!!!!!!


We will re-build, no doubt. But our lives will forever be marked by  April 27, 2011.  The day when we all heard the horrible sirens all day until the night fell. Some of us, like our family, were without power, so we texted each other for support and news updates. We gasped when we looked at the sky filled with ominous clouds. We prayed. We prayed for our family and friends as the storm loomed ever closer and the winds began to whip things around, even though we weren't in them middle of it. We were SCARED. We were brought to our knees praying for our families our friends and our state. Our lives were changed. Some lives were lost. Cell phones were jammed. Tears where shed. Screams filled the air. Then silence followed. Deathly silence. Lives were shattered. Some lives were miraculously  saved. Yes, this is a day of infamy for Alabama. It will be one of those life changing days that we will talk about endlessly, even after others, in other parts of the USA will forget.  But one thing is for certain.Alabamians will NEVER forget. Our children will be told about this day. And our grandchildren. And interspersed in the sadness and horror of our story that we will tell, we will also speak of great miracles that happened/families that were brought together by a storm and a nation that wanted to reach her arms and hold us like a baby. In the very middle of the hell of April 27th, 2011 we were also catapulted before the throne of GRACE before God Almighty.
And  these are the stories we will tell. Again. And tell again.

"I called on Your  name, Of Lord, 
from the lowest pit. You have heard my voice:
"Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help"
You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, "DO NOT FEAR"--Lamentations 3:55-57

















I will be posting some video from local news tomorrow.....

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