Who knew I would be writing today from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and County Jail where I stopped off, seeking shelter from the tornado into which I was driving? It’s been a pretty bizarre day. The trip to my dad’s house that generally takes two hours and fifteen minutes took three-and-a-half this morning and the return trip, after about five hours, has brought me here.
In Pollyanna fashion, could I just say that there’s a list of things for which I am thankful at this moment? This is not exhaustive, but it’s a start.
- I’m very thankful for the reason I am in this jam in the first place. Seriously, who has an 88-year-old father who got to go hear the orthopedic surgeon say “You’re fine. That broken wrist has healed up. Just go on about your business.” That business includes mowing, cleaning the pool, hauling wood, cooking and laundry…at 88!!
- I really thank God for cell phones and internet. While I cannot get online here and there is only emergency lighting at this jail, I can call home where my husband is online as he’s taking cover in the basement and he can (hopefully) tell me when it’s safe to proceed.
- I’m extremely grateful for and to this very sweet receptionist guy who invited me to sit in this relatively safe place (It is the lock-down place of the county!) and who tells me every now and then what the storm is doing at my house in Maysville.
- I am amazed and ecstatic and thankful about these people who own a restaurant in Guntersville called Crawmama’s. Now, while the whole town is powerless, they cook their food completely by propane. I am quite sure that they could be making a killing when all the other restaurants are closed, but what are they doing? They’re cooking hamburgers and bringing them over to the sheriffs and deputies and the traveling people like me who are hungry. They are also finishing up a day of serving free burgers and chips to people who lost power and roofs and cars and loved ones and they are planning an even busier day tomorrow cooking chickens donated by a local company for anyone who is hungry. They only pause to find out where they are needed most. I think the whole staff is in here right now making a strategy for tomorrow. I am hearing all about the beans, the chickens, the refrigerated truck and the plan to set up at 7:15 at the county jail. I tried to stop the owner and thank her. She replied, “We just thank the Lord. It is surely not about us.” She is so right.
- And what about the security of knowing there’s a peaceful shore waiting for us if panic turns to catastrophe? It’s very comforting to know that there’s no true catastrophe for the Christian. I just saw shingles flying through the air. They looked as if they were falling from the sky. I am not sure what the evening holds, but I am truly thankful I am in the arms of the One who knows all about tonight and tomorrow and the next day and the next…and on past the time when the sirens are all silenced by the trumpet and the objects flying through the air will be His people.
