As I sit here and type this I am thinking to myself how lucky and blessed we are. Things could have gone a very different way on Friday.
Friday was a very bad day for parts of Southern Indiana and Kentucky. There were multiple outbreaks of tornadoes. We knew in advance that this was a possibility but you never know where the tornadoes will touch down, so all you can do is be alert and aware of the situation. As the bad weather was fast approaching, schools were letting out early and businesses were closing. I sent an e-mail to my boss and the manager on site to let them know that I was going to head home and work from there. Just after I sent that e-mail the manager on site came over and told me to "boogie on home". He had not received my e-mail yet but felt it was safer for me to go home.
About an hour or so after getting home the sirens started sounding. I turned on the tv and called my husband. He said that we should be okay, the main threat appeared to be a little north of us. Little did we know the destruction that was going to occur.
The tornadoes did not hit where we lived but they were close to home, a little to close to home. They completely destroyed a couple of towns near by us and caused significant damage to a few others. These places range anywhere from about 16-25 miles away from us. The footage that was coming in was terrible, so many homes and businesses destroyed. We were getting in touch with family and friends to make sure that they were okay, calling, texting and sending messages on Facebook.. Luckily none of our family or friends were hurt or had any damage done to their properties.
The scenes just tear at your heart. Lives were lost, but thankfully because of the warning many more were spared. You sit there and just feel for these people and their families. You want to know what can you do to help them. You thank God that you, your family and friends are okay. That you have a roof over your head and food to eat.
Our Church was in contact with a retreat center that is housing volunteers and feeding families that were affected by the tornadoes. They asked if the members could cook and bring soup to them to feed these individuals. As soon as my husband and I saw this post from our minister at Church, we knew what we had to do, it did not matter that it was 9:00 p.m. at night. We went through our pantry to see what we had to throw together a large pot of soup and off my husband went to get the rest of the ingredients that were needed and to get some crackers and cookies to send as well.
Off we went to Church this morning for service and to deliver the soup and other items. It was amazing how much soup and other items that the other families made as well and the quick work that we did to load up the truck that would be delivering the food. As we finished this I felt good that there was at least a little something that we could do to help at this time and to see how the church and the community are pulling together to help those in need.
I know there will be more opportunities to assist in the coming days, as the damage is assessed and the individuals that were affected start to pull their lives back together. I think of this Bible verse that my friend posted on Facebook on Friday. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, Therefore I will hope in Him." Lamentations 3:22-24
As my friend said "These are the prophet Jeremiah's words after the destruction of Jerusalem. Amidst total destruction, he looked to the Lord for his strength. May the people in Southern Indiana do the same." I think this is very well put.
So as I sign off of here I pray for all of the individuals that were affected by this terrible storm and that they can find strength in the Lord.
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