Why Me??

I CAN imagine what it must have been like to be in Tuscaloosa on April 27 holding on tight to my children and praying to be spared from nature's wrath.   I can imagine this very vividly because I was in this city right before it was ripped apart. 

Not knowing what the weather held and going against every gut feeling to stay home (aka Holy Spirit), my family of five decided to travel from Chattanooga through Alabama to Mississippi on Wednesday.  The first minutes of the trip started off with us running into a public restroom for safety as a tornado was reported not far from our location in Chattanooga.  After the storm passed, we headed back home to regroup.  Our electricity was off, and we made the decision to go on with our trip even though everything in me said stay.

After studying the radar, it seemed that we needed to hustle through Alabama to get past the upcoming storms.  We actually set the goal to get past Birmingham to be safe.  We made good time, and once we were past Birmingham, we were out of gas and hungry.  Tuscaloosa was our next option for stopping.  We love this city.  We have stopped here along our trip to get a coffee and let the children play at a wonderful park.  But today something in me told me to keep going. 

So we decided to keep going, and we coasted into a gas station on fumes to refill a little ways down the road from Tuscaloosa.  When we were filling up, the air was hot and sticky and the sky was churning like we were in the middle of a whirlpool.   It made me nervous, and I rushed the boys to hurry and get going again.

We ended up not going very much further until we had to seek shelter as we entered a dangerous supercell that had produced a deadly tornado.  I huddled up my little family in the corner of the building and listened as the wind slammed into the wall of the building.  I remember praying to be spared.  I looked at the faces of my little ones as if it might be my last.  I made plans to do everything I could to save them.  I waited as I knew I was not in control of my fate. 

After two and half  hours of waiting out these powerful storms, the winds calmed and the skies cleared.  We were okay.  But so many people just miles up the road were not.  Hundreds lost their lives.  Over 600 were hurt.  Many lost their homes, businesses, and friends and family. 

I couldn't help but wonder why me???  Why were we alive and okay?  Moms just like me were clinging on to their children and babies and praying, but they didn't make it.  There are no answer to my question except pure humility and gratitude.  I was reminded through this humbling experience that life is short and we are not in control.   We are incredibly fragile, and we are not in control. 

Eternity is on my mind a lot right now.

I have to confess that I have wondered when I die what if I realize Heaven is not there, and this religious thing is just a make believe story to give people comfort.  My answer is I don't care if I'm wrong.  I will have lived my life in peace, hope, security, and love.  Serving others and believing in miracles will be the worst outcome.  But what if I'm right....then death is not the end.  I put my hope in that Jesus was telling the truth, and there is a paradise waiting for us if just accept His gift of LIFE.  That's too good to turn down. 

I hope that the lives lost this week are not really lost, but they are now in a beautiful Heaven with no tears, regrets, pains, or sorrow.

And the why me??  I may never know, but I know that it's my responsibility to live life to its fullest.  I will love deeply, apologize quickly,  live in grace, serve as I can, and tell others of the hope that fills my heart because of Jesus Christ.

Easter Part 1

 

It's Saturday of Easter weekend, and we are full swing in celebrating my birthday and Easter!

Thanks to Aunt Diane and Uncle Danny's care package, we dyed eyes, and then transformed them into dinosaurs!

 

On Saturday, our MOPS church had an egg hunt and pony rides.

Clark has been asking to ride a horse for months.  Today he got his wish.

Joel wasn't quite sure what he thought about the horse.

Resurrection Rocks

 

Easter is a big holiday around here, and today we painted resurrection eggs.  The idea hit me last night when I was reading the The Very First Easter, and I was pondering how do I teach this to my little guys in a concrete way.  The stone is a very big part of the story.  The rock rolled was the first noticeable things to indicate the RESURRECTION had happened.  Wow, I wonder what was like to have been one of those ladies and to discover that huge stone moved? The shock, wonder, fear, and excitement they must have felt that morning!!!!   So after reading the story and talking about the stone, the boys painted their rocks today.  They had fun painting, and I had fun talking about how each color represented something as I told the story again.

 

Here's our Resurrection Rocks in our garden.  I sealed them with a spray sealer, so I'm hoping they'll survive the spring rains.  My hope is they'll serve to remind us of the Resurrection each time we see them.

Why Levi? (joined in harmony)

Michael and I had the hardest time deciding names for our son.  We actually didn't name him until we were holding him in the hospital and after much prayer.  We wanted to name him a name that had deep meaning for our lives as well as his.  When we name our children, we consider what kind of person we hope they will grow up to be and what this child means to our lives. 

Levi was Jacob and Leah's third son in Genesis.  This is our third son.  Leah was longing for affection and love from her husband, so she hopefully named her third born a name the means, "joined in harmony."  My heart breaks for Leah, and we understand her plight somewhat.  We are at a time in our lives were we are longing for harmony in our lives.  We both have a deep desire to be in harmony with each other, our children, and our loved ones.  Lately we have had an insatiable desire to be in harmony with God's will for our lives.  We have been seeking wholeheartedly what He wants for our lives instead of having a self focused drive.  We also want our son to seek harmony with God all of his days.

Levi wasn't really a good guy in the Bible.  In the end, his father couldn't even leave him a decent blessing because of all of his misbehavior.  BUT....God uses all things for good.  Levi, who messed up so much, was the father of the Levites--the chosen people to serve God.  Michael and I have felt the sting of regret and the consequences of mistakes.  We know that our Levi will mess up as well.  But in the Biblical Levi's life we see God's amazing restorative powers and redemption that is for us all.  We plan to teach our little Levi that nothing can separate him from the LOVE of God, and our God even uses our mistakes for good.