April 27th

In my 31 years...I have never seen as such and felt as much as I have the past 5 days. It began Wednesday afternoon as we watched Tuscaloosa get hit by such a horrible tornado on the TV and knowing it was headed straight for us. We watched as those students...still kids...stood on streets that were demolished and our hearts were broken for them. Then we ourselves took cover in my brother's basement and thanked our Father when we were all ok. Then my heart stopped as I heard my Dad's voice on the other line say...your sister was hit...your sister was hit. The storm had just become personal....at that time we had no idea...just how personal. Our savior was definitely with us the past few days....he was with us while Tess waited to hear if Steven made it through the Tuscaloosa storm and as she waited to hear the fate of her friends that lived there. He was there as Brooke, Josh, Lucy, Steve, Nancy, Mark, Tiffany,Deb, Esther, and Seth prayed underneath a pool table while tress and houses were blown away and demolished around them. He was there as we piled in the storm shelter in Casey's basement. He was there as our guys drove through the storm determined to cut our family out of Shoal Creek Valley. He was there as we watched the horrible aftermath of a storm I could never even imagine. Jesus held our hands and we didn't even know it. He was there.


He has also sent heroes during such a devastating time. Heroes in fireman and policeman uniforms. Heroes like Matt Coupland & Officer Talley & many more from the Sheriffs Dept. as I saw them tired and worn down as they continued to serve Shoal Creek Valley day after day. Heroes like the fire & rescue squads as they have worked around the clock even after they were off duty. Heroes that drove up and cleared Brooke's driveway with an excavator and started working and jumped out of jeeps with chainsaws and were gone to the next home to help before they could even utter the words"what do I owe you?" Heroes like friends and family who drove through storms to help try and get my family to a safe place. Heroes like churches and community members driving around feeding those who have no power, water, or even a home. Heroes like the people who donated stuff piled to the ceiling at AMS. Heroes who are holding peopel who have lost loved ones tonight. Heroes who are praying on their knees for those suffereing. They are EVERYWHERE! From those men with chainsaws to women sorting clothing to churches feeding homeless to the men from all over southern US in power trucks & phone trucks working all hours to restore our state. If you have served, fed, helped, or prayed...THANK YOU! You are all heroes in my eyes.
Yesterday me & my mom went delivering lunch to families in Shoal Creek....they were so humble...they were turning us away to go help others! Keep praying for these people. Our hearts were broken for little old ladies sitting in darkness and families weeping over rubble. Pray for healing. Pray they remember....HE has not left them...HE is still there.
I can barely stomach to watch the coverage of Tuscaloosa. I think of those kids...yes they are still kids...and their faces show it now more than ever. I pray for restoration in that city.
I pray for all the babies who lost their school. School is usually a child's safe haven...a place where no matter what they feel safe...some of them don't have a school to return to tomorrow...my heart hurts for those kids & their teachers.
I think of Pleasant Grove and friends I have who call it "home." I pray for their friends and family there. I pray God can heal that community and the people who have lost everything there.I am so proud of the people I see serving others in the state of Alabama.
I pray that as things slowly return to normalcy that we don't forget those affected and those hurting. That we continue to pray. We continue to give. We continue to work together. We continue to serve. If we take anything from this ...I pray we learn to LOVE.....

If you are reading this and you were affected...please let me know specific needs...specific areas to pray...to serve....