Nature's Wrath

Last evening was an adventure I would rather not repeat.

Following VBS, we exited the church to find the skies north of us dark and ominous, while those to the south looked like the perfect spring/summer evening, dotted with pink cotton candy clouds. Then enters the tornado warning. We live in WV, people!!! I left Louisiana YEARS AGO, happy to be away from such things!!!

I race the storm home, drop my mom at her house and head to mine. Then...nothing. At least for an hour or so, anyway.

The lightning started about 9:30pm and, hoping to create my own therapy to help get over my fear of severe storms, I stood outside and took some pictures. After loading them onto the computer, I realized that I needed to pick up my 18 y/o from work. DH and I both thought that the storm had blown by us. I got two minutes from the house and visibility turned to...well, let's just say that high beams, high wiper setting and 5mph still wasn't good. I arrived in the WalMart parking lot in time to watch grocery carts drive themselves in CIRCLES!!! In SIDEWAYS RAIN! Yeah, the good little southern girl in me is screaming "Cloud rotation! Cloud rotation! If it was daylight, it would be green outside!! GET OUT OF THE STUPID CAR!!!" (Yeah, she wasn't very nice...).

So, with half of my body soaking wet after running into the store, I have to wait for my son since he has to finish locking up. DH calls me, "I am packing the boys into the company car and heading to Mom's." So, Mr. Chef and I continue to wait for a lull, however small. The mad dash to the car ends up with both of us soaking wet. He calls his grandmother to let her know we are on our way. The normal 5 minute trip takes 15 minutes. There are rivers in the streets that I probably shouldn't have driven through but I did.

After being at my MIL's for about an hour, things have calmed down. The rain is almost done and coming straight down, now. We leave. About 1-1/2 miles from the house, there is a line of cars waiting on emergency personnel to let them pass. A power line is down. And the have had to forcibly evacuate to neighborhoods just passed the elementary school near my grandparents' home. DH and I told them where we were going and they told us we would be fine. It's beyond us that it was still really bad.

DH and I discover that we have standing water behind our home. The creek looks like a raging river. There is mud everywhere.

But my kids are safe and happy, having gotten to sleep in their own beds last night.

This morning my mother calls to check on me and tells me that my aunt and uncle are in the living room. Uncle had to call 911 last night because the storm ripped the power line OFF their house!! The power company tech came out and couldn't work on it last night due to the storms continued activity and the the fireman, when asked how things looked in town, told Uncle that he really didn't want to know. Things were that bad.

So, today we will all assess the damages and be thankful to God for the life we have. Sometimes, it takes a good rumble to make us realize that things don't matter...people do. Blessed be God.