"Come here, Mommy" said Naomi, "Look at the lightning--there's so many."
I went by our bay window to take a peek. "Your right." I replied as I took assessment of the clouds. Within a minute the storm ferociously came in--"Ravi, get Daddy's flashlight--hurry."
The lights flickered. Thunder and heavy rain pounded our home like never before. We took refuge downstairs. After an hour and a half it stopped---I thought we were in the clear.
Then the second storm came in. I ran out to the window again. This time it was worse. The swirling winds were menacing. The trees in front which once stood straight now all bent an horrible upside down "L" shapes. I knew this wasn't good. Mentally, I went into extreme emergency mode as I tried to figure out how to get 8 sleeping children back down into the basement in case of the worst scenario--a tornado.
BAM--the lights went out. Emergency vehicles were flying up and down the road. We looked closely outside and saw that a ditch and tunnel made to drain water overflowed onto the streets making for very hazardous conditions. Our back up sump pump could not keep up with the water---we had to resort to scooping water with a pan in the dark. Then we found water creeping into the bathroom drain very slowly---thank God my husband made it home around this time (I still can't believe he drove through the storms).
Hours earlier, a non-related incident happened, a water pipe had busted in front of our home sending a river of water down the street. There were emergency crews out there all night repairing the damage---resulting also in the water being briefly turned off during it all.
The next day when our power came back I found out from the same storm system came 3 tornadoes in different areas---one only about 10-15 minutes from my home---an F2!!!! For those of you wondering what wind gusts are for an F2--they are winds from 111 to 135 mph!!!! And a funnel cloud reported even closer to my home they say leveled and devastated a huge building.
Why am I sharing this? Because I was SCARED! SCARED out of my mind---but I just wanted to let you know that God is good---too good--because we are still here and no one died in any of these tornadoes.
Praise God.
And believe me, we are all hugging eachother a little more tighter today.
Hours earlier, a non-related incident happened, a water pipe had busted in front of our home sending a river of water down the street. There were emergency crews out there all night repairing the damage---resulting also in the water being briefly turned off during it all.
The next day when our power came back I found out from the same storm system came 3 tornadoes in different areas---one only about 10-15 minutes from my home---an F2!!!! For those of you wondering what wind gusts are for an F2--they are winds from 111 to 135 mph!!!! And a funnel cloud reported even closer to my home they say leveled and devastated a huge building.
Why am I sharing this? Because I was SCARED! SCARED out of my mind---but I just wanted to let you know that God is good---too good--because we are still here and no one died in any of these tornadoes.
Praise God.
And believe me, we are all hugging eachother a little more tighter today.
13 comments:
As a resident of the Great Plains, I feel your fear--but I also have had many opportunities to see God work both before and after the tornado.
We do indeed serve an awesome God!
Love,
Kate.
Oh my goodness that is very scary. It does seem as if the storms are worse this year. I thank God that y'all were all O.K.
Oh goodness I am glad you and your family are safe. How scary that must have been for you all. We were hit with a tropical storm yesterday that didn't do anything but drop badly needed rain Praise God. Then last night I heard about the tornados in your part of the country. Thank God you are okay.
Dear June,
I am so glad that your family is ok! This must have been very scary for you and your children.
Praise the Lord that your husband arrived safely, and that all of you are safe!
Yes, our Lord is incrediable...
In Christ,
mari
Dear June, We experienced the same storm and I thank God that He kept His hand of protection on our street. The next day was quite an eye opener because the effects were quite visible. Bent trees and fallen limbs were proof of the strength of the storm. Our power went out but thankfully only over night. Our basement did flood but we are all safe and for this we are thankful to the Lord. His mercies are many.
Blessed to hear that you and your family were kept safe during this very severe storm and that Steve arrived safely home.
Continue in your ministry to women that God has called you for this season, I continue to be blessed when I visit your blog.
May the Lord strengthen you today in all the ways that you minister to you family.
Thank you Lord for all you have done! Lydia <><
Dear Ladies,
Thanks for caring and encouraging words--it was a frightful event--however the prayer and faith was ongoing!
Tiffany,
I am grateful that the tropical storm didn't ravage your area and that other friends and family are safe there as well.
Lydia,
Great to hear from you again since our last phone conversation---I am so glad to hear that you didn't get much damage either. Hopefully your basement didn't flood too much. Yes, the Lord is good and His blessings are indeed many.
So how did the Father/Daughter Banquet turn out? Hope they had a great time!
Many blessings...
I am so glad your family if safe and sound. It is almost time for the tornados to start up here in the south and they can be very scary.
Amazing what a little perspective will do. What a terror, what a gift!
Praising that all are safe.
So glad to hear that you are all safe and sound. Praise God! That must have been terrifying!
Blessings abound! "...the storm may be around you, but it will not harm you..."
Great post! I'm so thankful everything is OK with you all! I grew-up in Iowa and there were many a night that momma and daddy would wake us up to take us to the basement - my only concern was always the dog! How naive I was!
oh my gracious.... praise the Lord that you all are well and sound!
i have never experienced a tornado, but a childhood spent on the rough coast of maine has given me a healthy respect for nature's fury. of course having an even higher respect for the hand *behind* that fury gives one reason not to be at peace even in the midst of one, eh?
Hello! I recently discovered your blog via a link from Domestic Felicity. May I just say that you have a wonderful site with beautiful pictures. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share where you located the pictures, such as the lovely ones of a mother and her children?
I'm looking forward to reading your site!
Sincerely,
Jacqueline S.
YIKES! What an awesome picture. I remember well growing up in Aurora, CO and living half the summer in our basement because of all the tornadoes that would form on the plains there. I'm still in CO but in the mountains where tornadoes never touch us...but forest fires do.
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