A few thoughts

The words "destroyed", "devistation", "wiped out", "destruction" have never had more meaning; but neither have the words, "safety", "blessed", "alive and well".

Our state was hit by severe weather on Wednesday. We've experienced severe weather before, but it has been a long time since we had anything this bad. In 1974 we have a night full of tornadoes... I was 4 years old and remember spending the night in our basement.  I remember my parents getting on to missionaries who were out trying to take pictures of the storms. I remember hearing stories of families who survived the storms in their bathrooms. Being born and raised in the South, tornadoes are nothing new. But the storms that hit us on Wednesday were definitely record-breakers.

I won't bore you with details of our day... I am sure they are pretty much like everyone elses. We are blessed that we did not have any damage to our home, or any family member. We have some family with damage to their homes and property. We have some family that live in a neighborhood that was heavily damaged. Probably about 80% of the homes are gone, or so heavily damaged that they will have to be bull-dozed over. One person lost their life in this neighborhood. We were blessed with the opportunity to go there on Saturday and help with some of the clean-up. What a remarkable spirit that is alive in this neighborhood. So many people just thankful to be alive, and thankful to have any help they could get. Some of them were even more concerned about our safety than their property.

I am so thankful for this experience. I am sure that as time goes on, there will be bigger news stories, and the focus will shift to other things, but I know this has been an experience that my family and I will never forget. I don't know that words can actually describe my feelings. I have thanked my Heavenly Father over and over again for all my blessings. As I sit here tonight with my power back on, I feel even more gratitude... there are still so many without it. How blessed we are.