February 10, 2013

It is amazing how quickly things can change.  Yesterday was one of those days.  We had an amazing morning at church. It was probably the most powerful time of worship for me at Heritage in the 3 years we have been in Hattiesburg.  We came home, ate lunch and then got ready for our beloved Sunday naps.  I was sleeping so well but was awakened to the weather radio on my phone screaming that there was a tornado.  Awesome.  So, we hunker down in the bathroom for half an hour.  This is super fun by the way with a 3 1/2 year old and a 9 month old.  The warning lifted and life went back to normal.  J headed to church to prepare for Sunday night activities and the kids and I went on to playing like normal.  At about 4:30, it started up again.  So, into the bathroom the kids and I went.  I set up the laptop so Ella Kate could watch a movie because I didn't want to pass on my complete terror to her.  You see, the tornado had been spotted right down the highway from where we live and was headed straight for us.  We had about 15 minutes to sit and wait.  Then, the power went off.  Great.  No more movie for EK, and panic set in with me.  About this time, Walker had a blow out diaper.  Fun, right?  Poop in the dark...not a good combo! Anyway, I was able to talk with J but he had to stay at the church with the students who had already driven up there for church.  We sat for what seemed like forever until I saw the warning was lifted.  We were safe! Praise the Lord!!! J came home and got us and took us to the church.  They had emergency lights which was better than being in the pitch black with my 2! Then the truly terrifying part took place....the footage of the tornado.  The tornado followed the path of Highway 98.  We live on Highway 98.  With the wonder of facebook, we were able to see the tornado on video within minutes of it passing right by our house.  Crazy.  Scary.  Surreal.  We began texted, calling, anything we could do to find out if everyone was safe.  Several people in our church lost everything, but EVERYONE WAS SAFE!!!! God is so good and protected the lives of EVERY person in Hattiesburg.  In the midst of a truly horrific afternoon, God saw it fit to spare the lives of the people of the our city.  Things could have been much worse.  USM got hit really badly.  Thankfully, the students were all gone for Mardi Gras break.  Oak Grove High School was hit really badly.  Thankfully, it was a Sunday afternoon and not a school day when so many activities would have been taking place.  Yesterday serves as such a wake up call and reminder that life is fragile.  We aren't promised another day.  The Lord is going to use this for his glory.  No doubt.  Praying that in the midst of these hard times, we will truly rely on Him.