June 3rd, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Note: I have written a weekly newspaper column for my home town of Parkersburg, Iowa, for over 32 years. Recently, a huge, level 5 tornado hit Parkersburg. I drove all through the night to join my mother, brother and sister in Parkersburg. My mother hid in her basement and was not injured, though her attached garage was destroyed and her house is beyond repair. The following is a column that is to appear in the paper this week.
________________________________________
The mighty wind roared into town and changed so much so fast. In a few moments it was over, but in a real sense so much was just beginning. What should have been a sleepy Sunday on a Memorial Day week-end turned into a horrible moment forever to be remembered.
People climbed out of hiding to find their homes gone or seriously damaged. There were frantic searches to see if loved ones were alive, a rushing to neighbors to see if they were OK. Luscious green trees were now skeletons eerily piercing the sky, their twisted limbs grotesquely decorated with pieces of clothing, mattresses, lawnmowers, and sections of metal. Vehicles were crushed and crumpled. Precious possessions lay scattered everywhere.
I was one of those loved ones who rushed back to the hometown to be with family. In my case, I drove 12 hours through Sunday night from southern Michigan to be with my mother, Clara, and the rest of the family (her house was on South Johnson Street). I grew up in the Parkersburg community and have had the privilege of sharing with you through this column for over 32 years. A part of me is still here.
Though I am a word-crafter by trade (preacher and writer), finding the right words in the debris of my scattered thoughts and feelings in the face of this tragedy is no easy task. Just as many of us collected items from the rubble and put them in various piles or pails, so I’ve attempted to collect my thoughts, and would like to share them with you.
1. Tough times bring out the true character and level of faith we were building during the ordinary and good times before the tornado came.
2. Having realized this, we can use tragedy to remind us that we have yet a long way to go in this character-building business. We have a choice to let the tornado leave us bitter or better as a person. It’s God’s intention that we not waste this pain!
3. There’s a lot more good in this world than one might have thought. All kinds of help came to Parkersburg and the surrounding community hit by the tornado. People do care!
4. Our grief for the lives lost should not keep us from expressing gratitude that many more lives were not lost.
5. Never again let us complain that our days are so ordinary and uneventful. Every one of us would wish that Sunday, May 25, 2008, had been an ordinary Sunday. Let’s be thankful when we are blessed with so many ordinary days!
6. We’ve been made starkly aware that possessions can so easily be taken from us, a reminder that they should not be our ultimate source of happiness nor should they define our value as a person.
7. Tragedy is to draw us closer to God. C.S. Lewis stated that God whispers to us through pleasure but shouts to us through pain.
We can build new houses, a school, and businesses. Our life as a community and our individual lives can be rebuilt too, if we choose to make it so. We had no control over the tornado’s coming or what it left in its path. We do have control over what life will be like now that the tornado is gone!