So when I woke up on Thursday morning the first thing that I thought was WOW!! Thinking about how bad the tornadoes were and the loss of lives and other damaged and devastation was just overwhelming. And honestly, I really did not even know the real magnitude of it all at that time. I also thought, WOW how am I suppose to do every day real life with my 5 young ones without power. It was all every overwhelming. We also did not have phone service. We had had phone service when we went to bed Wednesday night, and I had talked with several friends and family to make sure that everyone was OK. I had also talked to my bestie, Bridgett in Kentucky. I told her that we might be looking to travel north to power. Of course she said we could come if we needed to. With that in mind Thursday morning, I quickly made the decision to go stay with her; however I could not call her to tell her we were coming. Neither our land line or our cell phones were working.
It took me several hours to get us packed. I also cleaned up the house some and emptied the refrigerator. Then we were on our way. Wesley was very torn with whether or not he should stay or go and there were many more factors for him to consider like work and delivering the newspaper which he does for additional income. Ultimately he felt very strongly that he should stay behind and help. He needed gas so he started out with us going far enough north to get gas, then we said good bye and he returned home as we traveled on to Bridgett's. It wasn't until we were about an hour or more into the trip that my phone reached a tower and had service. All of a sudden it started signaling that I had text messages and messages from missed calls. I immediately called Bridgett. She had been trying to get in touch with us, but she had just assumed that we had gotten busy. Needless to say, she was rather surprised to hear that we were actually in route to her house! I'm sure that she went into overdrive preparing for us!
Leaving was hard. When we drove down our street, we saw all our neighbors outside. Some were walking, some playing, some just sitting outside. I kind of felt like we were abandoning everyone, but we did not/do not have a generator so I really did not know how we would manage. Several neighbors also did not have generators. I wasn't sure how they would make it, but I just kept thinking how hard it would be with very young children. I thought since we have another option, we should take it. I mean I knew that survival without power was possible, but considering we've all become so accustomed to it we were very ill prepared to do without it. I also knew that Wesley would be free to do more if he wasn't also trying to care for us.
I felt a heaviness I cannot describe. My heart hurt and my chest felt tight. It wasn't until I got to Bridgett's late that night that I would even know the full scope of things. I had only been able to hear talk radio. Seeing actually footage and pictures of the damage all around our state on the news and internet took my breath away.
The next morning was Friday. I woke up again in awe of the fact that this had happened and had happened so close to home. I was obsessed with thinking about the situation. I could not focus or concentrate on almost anything else. By Saturday night I knew that i had to return home with or without power. I just felt like I needed to be home doing something! I wanted to be with my neighbors. I wanted to help in some way. I wanted to pull limbs or collect supplies or hand out food or anything. I'm a doer. And I just could not get peace sitting around living it up enjoying great food and incredible desserts while the kiddos all ran around playing wildly and I sat with Bridgett and enjoyed the good life like nothing ever happened. (BTW, Bridgett is a great host, and she was doing an excellent job taking care of us and trying to take our mind off everything.) I decided that we would go to church and spend one final day with our friends, and I would get packed up so we could leave early Monday. BUT, the weatherman was predicting rain so Wesley urged me to stay another day. Finally, on Tuesday morning we started home! Turns out that in route home, my neighbor texted me and told me that the power just came back on!
I'm not sure that we did the right thing in fleeing from the power outage. There was a certain camaraderie that developed among neighbors and friends and I hate that we missed out on that. People pulled together, shared refrigerators run by generator, cooked out together, cut and cleaned up trees that had fallen, helped one another out. I think we also missed out on some immediate opportunities to serve. However, I do feel that we were able to be useful while we were away. We helped collect supplies in KY and brought them back home. We also were able to help relay information to Wesley who had only limited phone use and no television or internet. He was able to be very useful. Probably more useful with his wife and young ones safe and sound and out of town. Ha!
It's been a whole month now. I'm still in awe of these record breaking devastating tornadoes. The last I heard the combined death toll for that one day...Wednesday, April 27 was over 350 lives!! This is the thing though...350 deaths is a LOT. It's a huge number. The number of homes and businesses that were destroyed is incredible. BUT, BUT these kind of horrible numbers have been occurring quite a lot in recent years. We are living in a time of great technology and yet we can still not completely stand against the horrific natural disasters. Recently there have been devastating earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, wild fires, massive flooding, and much, much more. I've prayed for these victims and survivors. I've tuned in to watch coverage, and it hurt my heart. I've talked to my kiddos about it all and tried to teach them compassion for others. I've even given money and other donations on occasion, BUT you never really GET IT until it hits close to home. I've never really wept over the disasters that hit somewhere else. Now I'm looking at things differently.
Seeing it up close and personal totally changes you!! I've traveled roads that are forever changed. Landscapes and scenery now completely different. It changes your perspective. Last week, another deadly round of tornadoes struck. As I heard reports from Joplin, MO, I just cried. I feel like I gained all this new perspective and was changed by this, AND I know that there's probably still a lot I could gain. It hit close to home, but it did actually hit my home or worse my loved one. I hope that I don't forget.
People most of us need a life changing, eye opening experience close to home. It's time for us to start doing something. We are not promised tomorrow. These things are not going away. I can't help but think we are at least in the beginning of the end. Our world, our country, our state, our communities, our homes are in a dire situation. There are many, many people who are destined for an eternity in hell and most of us (ME) sit at home everyday doing little about it!!! It's easy to think that there's not much I can do with my little ones, but that simply isn't true. I can do more than what I do. At the very least, I can pray more for others and teach my children to pray more. I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty . Everyone has to search his or her own heart. And mothers of young ones ARE doing something when they stay at home sharing the gospel and showing the love of Christ to their children. That absolutely counts!! In fact, our family is for sure our #1 ministry. Personally I know that I'm seeking to raise my own little warriors for His army, but if I'm not very intentional I can and do get caught up in the daily tasks and forget to use every opportunity to His glory. That that's what it all boils down to. I can't get so caught up in clean laundry and dishes and neat rooms and a bigger house and next year's homeschool curriculum and crafts and sports and playing outside and having fun...these are all important and they all have their place, but we must be intentional about EVERY.SINGLE.THING!! I SO desire to live a life of purpose. To know Christ and to make Him known!! That's it. And that's all!!
...now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2
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