I "heart" Iowa

I'm so sad tonight for my home state, and for the families who have lost everything due to the tornado that ripped through so many small towns. Just miles from my parent's house, so much devastation surrounds the people who live there. Saturday night an F-5 tornado hit northeast Iowa and many, many people lost everything. I've been sitting at the computer watching videos, looking at pictures, and reading news stories with tears in my eyes. So much taken in just a matter of minutes... seven people died in Parkersburg, four people in Dunkerton.... of course the deaths are much harder to accept than the houses. But I've tried to imagine how it would feel to have everything that I consider mine... our priceless things, my favorite dishes, all our pictures, important documents, our clothes, our books, our stuff... gone. Scattered in the wind and destroyed. I just hurt for those people. So many of them are able to grasp the difference between material things that can be replaced and rebuilt, and lives that cannot, but that doesn't mean they aren't hurting. One of my teachers was interviewed, who lost her house and was very lucky to have survived in the basement while her house was sucked up all around her. She had friends in town with little kids who were terrified and being pushed into dark corners and cubbyholes to survive. The adults had to lay on top of the kids, just to keep some weight on them and keep them from being blown away. Can you imagine? That wasn't just a story, that was someone I know and love and I saw the pictures of her standing in what's left of her home. Walls down, the roof gone, everything destroyed.

I'm also sitting here incredibly thankful that my family was untouched. They were only miles from this tornado and yet they were safe, out of harm's way. My Mom was on call that night and at the hospital when the news of the tornado hit and the hospital went into emergency mode. They were preparing for the worst and sadly, it wasn't a drill. Praise be to God for keeping my Mom safe while she was out around town and for keeping my Dad, sister, and other friends safe too. No one but the Lord knows why some are spared and some must face disaster. But we do know that we have a God who can calm any storm and who can make all things new. Even the wind and the waves obey Him...

Please pray for northeast Iowa in these coming days and weeks. It breaks my heart to know that my fellow Iowans are grieving tonight and that so many have just had their whole world turned upside down. I'm reminded of how wise it is to hold our earthly things very loosely. We just never know what's around the corner and it could all be taken in an instant. People matter, stuff doesn't. I'm sad for Iowa and asking the Lord to bring hope in the midst of chaos and renewal in the face of despair. Is there anything He can't do?