Pray

Last night I received word that a tornado devastated the small town that my parents and sister live in. I am beyond thankful that they are all fine. It sounds like their home is irreparable. Most of their roof is gone, all of their windows broken, and I'm sure numerous other damages. They do not have a basement and it sounds like their house was right in the path of the tornado, so again, I am offering up many prayers of thanks. Unfortunately their five month old puppy did lose his life to this unrelenting force of nature. Like any level headed (Or over emotional, morbidly curious ) far away daughter and sister would do, I immediately went on line to investigate their local news. I already felt so sick in the pit of my stomach, but after viewing the video, news coverage, and pictures of the damage I thought I may just puke. I didn't. I did, however, continue to pray for all of those involved. I would love it if you all would join me in offering prayers for this small town which now appears to be, at least in part, wiped off the map. There were at least 7 deaths and over 50 injuries. Although I deeply grieve what this town is going through, the fact that my family was not among the fatalities brings much relief today! Today I focus on the tremendous blessings that are evidence of God's protection and provision:

• My parents do own another home. Although it needs some work, at least it is a resource available to them at this time
• It sounds like my parents didn't loose a great deal of practical things
• Even more importantly, those who I love were not injured at all
• My sister had recently purchased a home in a neighboring town and will be able to move into this whole and intact house in a couple of weeks
• Other family members and friends suffered minimal damage during this trauma
• My family's house, although greatly damaged, was one left standing in a now flattened, residential area

For a more local perspective on the devastation of this storm read my friend Sarah's blog @ life in the parsonage . Sarah is the pastor's wife at my parent's and sister's church.

My heart is heavy for those who have just gone through such a traumatic experience and now face the daunting task of clean up, rebuilding, and grieving.