It is that time of year when storm clouds gather and the winds blow. We stay close by the television and Weatherbug. We have learned in this part of the world that tornadoes are not to be taken likely. So we gear up and we prepare. We find the safest place to get when the unthinkable happens. Then we pray that we don’t ever have to seek shelter there.
I have experienced a tornado passing just overhead in my hometown of Dalhart, Tx in 1971. Some damage but no injuries. I stood in the gym at Canadian High School and watched a tornado slowly move down Red Deer Creek in broad daylight in the late 80’s. A sight branded into my memory bank that has never left me.
When I was a small child the citywide tornado siren was non-existent. The local police officers and volunteer firearm rode up and down the streets with their sirens blaring. Now, no matter where you are in any city there is no mistake when it is time to take cover.
One evening in 1955, police cars began making their way up and down the streets of Dalhart, Texas. My grandfather was a volunteer firefighter and probably the reason that my grandmother went into high alert before my cousin and I ever heard the sirens. He had to leave to do what firemen do in a crisis. There was no time to do anything but hunker down. I recall our precious grandmother laying my cousin and I down on a green leather sofa. She covered us with the two huge pillows that stood along the back of that piece of furniture. Then she did a most brave thing. She laid over the top of those pillows and her two grandchildren, both about six years old. The tornado never came to the ground. I can honestly say that I do not remember fear, only how safe I felt in her care that night.
At the time I did not understand the gravity of what she was willing to do. Her only thought was the safety of her grandchildren. She took no caution for herself. Amazing love. Sacrificial love.
Thought For Today:
When the first warnings go out bringing in the season of possible tornadoes, I am always taken back to that memory. It has been sixty years since that memory was born. I have zeroed in on the place we will hunker down in this home. It is just PaPa and I. We pray we never experience a devastating tornado.
When the clouds darken and the winds whirl I start my conversation with the One who protects me now. I can’t see Him but I certainly can feel His presence. That sacrificial love that lays down life to cover another. Jesus did that for us. Should, God forbid I meet Him in the midst of a tornadic wind. Well, I am ready. But I also know that our Heavenly Father is just a whisper away. He will protect us midst the storm. There is caution now, but no fear.
Scripture For Today:
Deuteronomy 31:6
6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (NLT)
Mark 4:39-40
39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (NLT)
Prayer For Today:
Hello Father! We just call on You to watch over us during this season of weather. Place Your hand of protection over all. Calm the storms that nature brings and also the atorms that visit each of our lives from time to time. Forgive us of our sins. In Jesus’name. Amen.