Thoughts on the Tornado Disaster

For four days this week, I sat with only a small sports transistor radio listening to the voices of different radio hosts talk to those devastated by the tornadoes, or to those helping those same people try to get back part of their life. Here I sat with no electricity, but we had our home and cars and all our family was safe. All I could do was shed tears for those people who were in harms way.

Tornadoes hit all around us, but our property was spared. Only two dead trees fell. The church near us sustained damage from a falling tree and others that fell in their yard. This was one of the reasons our community was without power. But I have to stress again, the tornado did not touch our community. But so many people around us did sustain major damage.

I cannot even imagine what the people throughout our state who were hit by this storm feel today, especially those who have lost relatives or have someone missing. I just checked one of the pages on the Internet that lists missing people. There are so many still missing and some may add to the already high total of people killed by these deadly tornadoes here in Alabama.

We have listened to the devastation talked about and watched so much of it on TV since getting our power back Saturday evening. But my husband says, until you get out there and experience first hand, you have no idea how bad it is. He has been going by Pratt City almost every day this week. And he says it is hard to believe what Pratt City once was just looking at the devastation there.

My church is only about 3 miles from me, but it's in Cullman County. And Cullman County is still out of power and have no idea when they might get it back up again. So our church was naturally out of power. But our pastor's wife said she could not even think about us not having church since so many churches around were hit hard. And they were all having church on the outside. I just read about the Phil Campbell Church of God having church outside on the concrete pad where their church once stood.

The pastor Chris Burns of Phil Campbell Church of God has this to say:

"Last week, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Phil Campbell, Alabama."

Those of us who were unscathed by the deadly tornadoes on Wednesday should be praying for those who were and pray for the safety of those relatives yet to have been found. Also help in any way you can, whether it be through physical help, a donation, or visit to the Red Cross. Today our church is making a donation to Red Cross. We are a small congregation right now, but we know it's important to show the love of God at a time of need. You will be blessed. Remember we are untouched by the disaster, but our friends and neighbors throughout Alabama may have not been so fortunate.

Technorati Tags: Tornadoes, Disasters, Alabama