I Thought Hurricanes Were Bad...

Alabama has been our home for the past two years. Each spring, especially during the month of April, terrible storms bring about tornadoes. Yesterday Alabama was hit very hard by tornadoes. The count of lost lives is reaching triple digits. In our little town we are fortunate to live close enough to the tornado siren. Whenever they go off we're downstairs in the basement taking cover. But after last night's near death scare, I realized how unprepared I was for a tornado.

When we first heard the siren go off we were making our way down the stairs when dear friends from another part of Birmingham called us to tell us that the tornado was on it's way directly to our town. Another friend called my husband on the phone and told us to take serious cover. He'd been through a few tornadoes himself and he gave us some great advice. Put the kids in their bike helmets, make sure everyone has shoes on. Take a mattress and place it over your head in case debris falls from the ceiling.

Jeez, this awful thing was going to really happen, this was not a drill, this was not a practice. We had 30 minutes to get everything ready. Flashlight in pockets, extra batteries for just in case, the weather radio and regular radio on. We stuffed all six of us and our dog in a corner and waited.

The news was describing the weather cell and the course of this tornado through our town. It was just yards away from our home. We all said a prayer together, asking the Lord to take care of us. We tried not to show any fear to our small ones, but they could sense the fear from the newscasters voices and the description of the destruction that had already happened in other parts of Alabama. "Are we gonna die?" "Is the wind going to blow our house down?" Praying helped relieve their fears and for about another 10 minutes we read a couple of books out loud. Two fell asleep waiting for the storm, which passed us by without any damage to our town. In fact there was no sound of rain or wind for the first tornado.

The weather reported a second tornado coming and this time the wind and rain sounded loud. We forgot to bring in our front porch furniture and we could hear them being rattled by the wind outside. Again we prayed as a family and miraculously the storm went a different direction and we were given reprieve to come out from hiding.

Some were not as fortunate as us.


These are pictures taken by a friend who lives on the west side of Birmingham. There is so much devastation, I'm at a loss for words what a spinning cloud of wind can destroy in seconds. Most everyone we know is safe and weathered the storm okay. Some are without power and some have fallen trees. Our friends in Tuscaloosa who minister to a homeless shelter lost a lot of lives in their community. If you get a moment lift those who have lost loved ones in your prayers today.