Tag: tornado

Posted in fear, friends, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture

Numbers Talk

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Numbers talk. Take 2.29.  Add a dollar mark and it becomes the price for a value meal at your local fast food place, or perhaps the price for gallon of gas…at least a while back.  Add a colon and it becomes the time on a clock twice a day, early morning and mid-afternoon.  Numbers talk.  Take 4.5.6.  At first glance they are three random sequential numbers—three numbers connected only by their sequence. I guess you could say it is a picture of our neighborhood—a couple of evens and one odd ball.  Of course, you could place these numbers on a clock and they too would become a time that occurs twice a day, everyday…once early in the morning and once later in the afternoon.  Numbers talk.

For the folks who live in the small Southern Illinois town of Harrisburg those numbers speak loudly and mournfully. The year was 2012 and it was a leap year with February having twenty-nine days…or letting the numbers talk it was 2.29.  The National Weather Service had forecasted potentially dangerous weather, and some had taken the warning seriously.  Others, softened by previous warnings, assumed it would be another false alarm.  At 4:56 in the morning, or 4.5.6, a line of damaging storms tore through the Southwest side of Harrisburg and in that tangle of lightening, thunder, wind, and rain raged an F-4 tornado.  For miles and miles, it tore through the countryside and several small towns…one of which was Harrisburg.

The tornado sirens were screaming their harrowing sound warning people of the impending disaster.  I heard the sirens and yet stayed comfortably in my bed till Judy made me get up.  My daughter and her husband were staying with us for the night and he and I went out the backdoor to see what we could see in the darkness.  Looking Southeast, in a flash of lightening we saw, what could only be the tornado, as it ripped through that part of our small community.  Before long, sirens were racing all through the town as police, fire and ambulances all raced to help those impacted by the storm. Streets were almost crowded with neighbors helping neighbors.

Daylight revealed the damage and destruction.  Where homes and businesses stood, now were piles of debris. Much of that part of town was severely damaged and sadly, eight people were torn from our lives that day and many more were injured.  Suddenly what we had seen so many times on the Weather Channel and the national news was in our backyard.  It was amazing to see how help poured in from all over the nation.  Various relief agencies, as well as hundreds of everyday people came to our town to help in any way they could.  Churches, often separated by doctrine or denomination, came together to help the hurting.  For the coming months, our church and other organizations would house and feed hundreds of volunteers who came to clean up and help rebuild the community.  We mourned together, we worked together, and we came together, and through it all, we emerged a stronger community.

So, if this year was a leap year then yesterday would have been the 29th and not the first day of March and it would have been the fourteenth observance of the Harrisburg Leap Day tornado.  I know that day is firmly etched in the minds and memories of everyone who lived in Harrisburg at the time.  But also etched there is the beautiful and powerful unity that we experienced during the days that followed the 29th.  Slowly, the physical scars have be repaired and rebuilt but the scars of those lost, of course, will remain forever.

There’s a verse in the Bible (written by a guy who was locked up in prison for nothing more than being a Jesus follower) that talks about how God can bring good from even the worse-case scenario. Now it doesn’t say that everything is good, because that just simply wouldn’t be true.  But it does say for those who are willing to trust, those who are willing to look and see, that He can bring good.  I know for me that is the memory of people coming together to help people.  Religion and politics, social status, and separation were laid aside as people just helped.  And, perhaps, that was when the seed was firmly planted in my heart that no matter what—how tall the mountain or wide the raging river, no matter how hot the fire or difficult the journey, that my Dearest Daddy, is in control. Perhaps that is when I knew, “He’s got this” and He still does. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, friends, gratitude, life, love, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

A Change in Plans

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

In a moment…everything changed. A long time ago, one of the young ladies in our church family asked me if, when the time came, I would perform her marriage ceremony. Her mom told me she had long dreamed of her wedding and part of that dream was for me to conduct the ceremony. Well, when I retired last year from the pastorate, she immediately came up and reminded me that retirement or not, I still had to be there for her on her special day. Well, not long after, sure enough, she was engaged and I was invited to be a part of the ceremony. The days, weeks and months until the day came and went and finally it was time.

She is one of those well organized people and she had planned everything down to the smallest detail. She found a beautiful wedding venue overlooking a lake. It was going to be a beautiful outdoor wedding and the weather for the wedding day was going to be perfect.  However, the evening of the rehearsal was another tale indeed. When the rehearsal time came it was raining those big, heavy drops but soon it passed and the sun at least made a cursory appearance. Rain or not, we were having a grand time. I’ve known this family a long time and was enjoying the time of fellowship and celebration.  

Soon, the rehearsal was over and we left to drive into the nearby town of Marion for the rehearsal dinner. Can someone say yay? As I was walking to my car to drive to the restaurant I noticed a very large and ominous cloud heading our way. We all got into our vehicles and drove the short distance for dinner. Just as we were nearing the restaurant, the tornado sirens started blaring and the tornado emergency signal sounded on my phone. It was ominous indeed. Arriving at the restaurant, we headed inside trying to ignore the increasing rain and blaring sirens. 

Soon we were seated at the dinner table feeling at least somewhat secure in the sturdy building. Well, as it turned out, we were safe but there was indeed a tornado and it struck the venue site head-on, completely destroying the main building along with everything that had been setup for the wedding. It had all the makings of a disaster. Just about then it was pretty hard to see the handiwork of God. After the initial shock the family began trying to piece the celebration scheduled for the next day back together. As it turned out there were several “blessings.” 

First, we were all safe. Had our departure been delayed by eight or ten minutes, we would have been right in the middle of the destruction but our Dearest Daddy made sure we were not there. Thank you Father. Second, one of the essential parts of the ceremony, the wedding dress, was in a small building very close to the larger one that was destroyed. The little building and the wedding dress survived. Thank you Father. Last, on this short list of blessings, as the family scrambled to find a new location, a new venue, which just happened (smile) to be available, was located not too far from the original site–and with no damage. Thank you Father.

Despite all the difficulties, I believe most of the wedding party soon began to see how our Dearest Daddy was working even when it was hard to see. And that is just what He does–always working. I am writing this the morning of the wedding ceremony. I’ve got some editing to do to the ceremony because this is a story that needs to be told and certainly won’t be forgotten. It reminds me that no matter what it looks like, God really is good…we just need to be sure to look and see it…and find it.  This is a wonderful example of how God causes everything to work for our good and His glory. It is also a wonderful example of how, no matter what, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Family, fear, friends, gratitude, life, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Majestic in the Storms

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:39

It came in hard and fast.  Last week the weather people said we were going to have some severe weather…and they were right.  The storms were due to roll in sometime Wednesday afternoon. The threats were heavy rain, high winds, large hail, and the possibility of a tornado or two. It turned out that we had all four.  The sky slowly grew darker and as it did, most of the staff and a couple of families looking for a safe place to ride out the storm gathered in the basement hallway of our church.  Me? Well, I was working on a sermon and since I was near the end…I kept on working.

Well, I finally finished the sermon and the storm decided to quit messing around and get serious.  Did I go to the hallway? Of course not! Instead, I went upstairs so I could see what was going on.  I did it under the guise of being a good leader and watching out for the people. Truthfully, I was just curious…perhaps too curious for my own good.  Regardless, I got to see the show. As the forces of nature displayed their fury, I watched and marveled at the power and majesty of God. When I thought that my Dearest Daddy was both creator and controller of such power…I marveled at this majesty. It was just about then that something happened that caused me to wonder about something else.

So, the wind is blowing at least fifty or sixty miles an hour, the rain is almost horizontal, and hail is hitting the ground and then I see something.  There was a guy (and yes, it was a guy) riding his bicycle in the middle of the worst of the storm—straight into the wind, the rain, and the hail. The question obviously was, “What in the world was he thinking?” The probable answer is he probably wasn’t. While my decision to watch the storm may have been a bit crazy, riding a bike in the storm and into the storm was more than a little crazy.

The truth is we will never know what he was thinking that caused him to do what he did but what we can do is learn. If we learn we can make a good decision, a better decision the next time a storm comes blowing in our way. Remember the best decision is always putting your faith and trust in the Maker and Master of the storms.  A song puts it this way, “My boat of life sails on a troubled sea, ever there’s a wind in my sail. But I have a friend who watches over me when the breeze turns into a gale.  I know the Master of the wind; I know the Maker of the rain. He can calm the storm and make the sun shine again. I know the Master of the wind.”

We can’t always avoid the storms, but we can choose to trust the Master of the wind. He is a strong shelter like no other. One time Jesus and His disciples were in a boat when a great storm came upon them. The disciples were terribly afraid, so they wisely went to Jesus and He spoke to the storm and said, “Silence! Be still!” And just like that—it did. He is the Master of the wind. So, if you know Him you never have to fear the storms of life. After all, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Waverly

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” Isaiah 43:2

It was only three hours away, but it was another world.  Just short of two years ago, a horrible and intensely powerful flash flood ravaged a small town in Western Tennessee. A small, benign creek traced its way through the center of town.  It is appropriately named, “Trace Creek.” Normally only a couple of feet deep, it gently winds for several miles surrounded by hills.  On a Saturday, a storm system set up shop right over that region and seventeen inches of rain fell in a short period of time. Disaster was coming.

As the rainwater funneled from the hills to the valley, Trace Creek became the collecting point and soon what was a benign creek became a killing flood.  The water rose not in hours but minutes—not in inches, but feet.  A railroad bed that was holding some of the torrent back gave way and a twenty-foot wall of water came down on the town.  As it did, death and destruction struck on what can be only described as “biblical proportions.” As the kid’s song from Sunday school says, the flood was deep, and the flood was wide.

In that short period of time cars became boats and houses were swept off their foundations.  Fences were laid over and trees and power poles were simply bowled over by the force of the water.  Sadly, over twenty people lost their lives and many, many more, were injured. I’m sure no one went to bed the night before dreaming of a flood, at least not of this proportion. It was a nightmare from nowhere.  In a couple or three hours it was over leaving behind a disaster zone that will take years to recover and rebuild.  Some, like the loss of life, will never be the same.

Our church had a personal touch with this small West Tennessee town as a couple of our families moved there last year.  While they were safe, many of their friends were not.  They quickly became important cogs in the wheels of rescue and recovery and that’s where we had an opportunity to help.  We had recently hosted our “Back to School” community event and because of the COVID hot mess, the crowd had been smaller than in previous years and we had many school supply bags left over and several hundred pair of shoes.  We were disappointed, but suddenly something began to make sense.  It was an opportunity.

At the invitation of one of churches there, we loaded up the supplies and shoes and headed to West Tennessee.  When we arrived, the destruction was beyond description.  Our small Southern Illinois city had suffered an F-4 tornado in 2012 so we knew about disasters but this, this was beyond even what we had experienced.  Soon we were setup and giving away the supplies and shoes.  There were stories, there were tears, and there were thanks.  At the end of a hot day, we were the ones who were blessed.

As was the case for us in 2012, their town actually experienced another kind of flood…a flood of kindness, generosity, and love.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of people poured in to offer any help they could give.  Restaurants and stands were set up offering free food and supplies. Life necessities were given to anyone with a need.  It was amazing especially in a world of “me first”. It was obvious that is not always the case.  Love and generosity ruled the day.

Across the street from where we were working was a house that had been flooded with about four feet of water. As cleanup started, the owners had emptied all of their contents and piled them by the road.  I looked and in one of the discarded chairs was a large, white Bible. It didn’t seem right to see it discarded, so I went and asked the owners if I could get it and take it home.  They were grateful.  You see, it had been wet in the flood and couldn’t stay, but it’s present place, in the trash, was not a statement of their faith.  They just didn’t know what to do.  So, it is with me…a reminder of my day in that small West Tennessee town…a town called Waverly.

The story of the Bible, and that it was not discarded because of a lack of faith, was a blessing to me.  People in that disaster didn’t give up on God or each other for that matter.  They chose to still believe…in God, in their town, and in each other.  Now a couple of years later, Waverly is well on the comeback road, and they are stronger than before. Their situation reminds me of a verse in the Old Testament that says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.”

You see, even in the midst of disaster, even when our circumstances don’t make a lick of sense, and these days that is often every day, well, He is still there.  Even when we go through the darkest valley we don’t have to fear because He is with us.  No matter how high the water or how hard the circumstances, listen, and you will hear the Whisperer whispering, “Rest in Me.  I’ve got this.”   Bro. Dewayne