Scary weather.

Last night, Brad and I visited my parents for dinner and some American Idol. For some reason, we always watch American Idol at their house. Well, our show kept getting interrupted with weather alerts, and I was getting very annoyed. I didn't get to see if some people made it or not! Anyways, back to my point...my dad is such a weather freak. He always has been - when we were kids, he would just wait for a big storm and then go into "storm mode." We would all huddle in the hallway with our blankets and pillows, and my dad would stand guard. He would roam around outside - which always freaked me out. He said his dream job would be a "storm chaser."

A what? Why in the world would anyone want to do that?????????

So, last night he was just eating up all the bad weather, and I knew he probably wasn't going to get any sleep because he would be staying up all night watching the weather. Well, I'm glad he did.

Around 2 a.m., I got a phone call from my dad, and his voice was quite frantic. "Lena, there is a bad storm coming RIGHT towards you. You need to take cover right now."

Well, being asleep and all, I JUMPED out of the bed and turned the television on. Sure enough, there was our little community of Christiana on the television.

And the freaking out began.

I grabbed the cats, dogs, pillows, flashlights, anything I could get my hands on and ran in the bathroom. You know what Brad was doing? Walking around outside and throughout the house like a FOOL!!! I thought I was going to pass out I was so scared.

Needless to say, the storm weakened considerably before I got there, but it reminded me a lot of my days when I lived in Texas - when everything would get extremely calm and still before the storm came. And because in 2003, a tornado went right past my parents' home, and they suffered lots of damage, I was even more frightened. I am so very thankful that I did not have to experience destruction again.

Even though we were out of the "tornadic activity," my heart was racing because I was seeing all of the destruction that was happening across the southeast. Because I have a heart for service - especially in times of disaster (I did relief work on the Gulf Coast less than 3 weeks after Katrina and have visited 4 times since then), I immediately began praying for all the people who would wake up and see the destruction in the daylight. It breaks my heart for these people who will have to re-live all of their pain once the sun shines on their destroyed homes and families.

So, even if you think the storms didn't affect you life, they did. I encourage each of you to check within your local American Red Cross to see if you can help - give your time, your blood, your money - anything helps. Believe me, I have been in that situation before. Remember to say a prayer for all the states that have been affected - this storm has changed the lives of many citizens of our country.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
- Romans 15:13

Blessings, y'all!