She had seen tornadoes come near before. Watched Gary England track them across the state with storm chasers reporting from death defying distances.
She had gotten in the storm shelter before, but the tornadoes had always gone on over or failed to form or missed her somehow.
But not this time.
This time the storm shelter door rattled violently as she clung to her dog, huddled beneath ground, praying, weeping, waiting. The sounds were like nothing she had heard before. Those brief moments lasted forever.
A few hours after she first attempted to come out of her shelter, some men with torn shirts and muddy faces heard her cries for help and removed the debris from on top of the door and helped her out.
She couldn’t believe what she saw. Her neighborhood was gone.
Gone. Destroyed. Nothing looked familiar.
Two days later, she has reconnected with family members. Her company is paying for her hotel. Help and food and water are plentiful, but so is chaos.
Even with tears in her eyes, a silent resolve and a wealth of resilience shines through as she says, “I’m going to be okay. I’m going to make it. And even though all of this has happened, I don’t blame God. I still believe that God is with me and will help me through this.”
And I believe her.
Worth Repeating
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
―Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
