For those of you who aren't from around Alabama who read this, or those of you who for some reason may not know, a huge storm came through northern AL and neighboring states last Wednesday leaving mass destruction, homes and material items destroyed, loved ones missing, a staggering death count and a constantly growing number of missing persons. This storm is reported to be one of the largest natural disasters in the United States in a very long time, possibly since the depression. Several communities were wiped off the map and numerous large cities are completely dilapidated. The pictures that have been taken are the same scene repeated over and over, and seeing them over the past few days has become numbing. But in every picture a family's history, home, finances and memories have been all taken away.
Thankfully, my family lives in the southern corner of Alabama so my parents and the majority of my family were safe from the storms, my brother Chris and I bunkered down underground at the nearby high school and my other brother got stuck working triage at the hospital. However, thousands of other people were not so lucky. Although I have been extremely blessed during this whole ordeal to not have a single friend or family member hurt, no structural damage and being one of the few people in Birmingham that didn't even lose power, it is still hard to understand how something like this could happen.
It's hard to grasp how so many people lost everything they own in a matter of seconds. It's difficult to think about never seeing a family member or friend ever again. Knowing someone you love is now gone forever or worse, could possibly still be missing. Realizing that the tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, was headed to Homewood, where I was, but then headed to downtown Birmingham where my friends and school were, missed us all completely and destroyed several towns within 5 minutes away is mind-boggling. It was hard a few years ago to watch a school packed with students and teachers, less than 30 minutes from my house get completely destroyed, but my school was unharmed, I was with my family in our home untouched. It's hard to understand why God lets certain events happen. I'm not questioning God or blaming him. But sometimes it's hard to see the whole picture of his plan when we are only given bite sized pictures of homes destroyed, wood and installation covering roads and buildings people were in demolished to a pile of bricks.
That was what I was thinking until I saw the video below and began reading in my Bible to find comfort. I turned to the middle of my Bible and began reading out of Psalm 39:
4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
That was all I needed. Although it is hard to watch continuing coverage of lives and homes destroyed, we have to hope in God. For those who no longer have anything, hope and faith in God is something no storm or person or any type of destruction can take away.
So as the communities surrounding Birmingham and the rest of the state mourn and recover to eventually rebuild, pray. Pray for what you can donate, whether it is water, food, clothes or time. Pray for healing, pray that the victims can find a way to cope with their unexpected losses, and over all pray that God will be glorified, even in the biggest disaster. Pray that people will be wrapped in love and hope and will learn to live their lives not for possessions or material items, but for God. Just as the storm took away, God will provide.
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