As this week unfolds I am walking around with heaviness in my heart in reaction to the devastation that took place in Moore, Oklahoma due to the most horrific tornado those townspeople have experienced in the history of their weather conditions. Seeing the images on the news programs only tells part of their stories and further fuels my inability to fully comprehend their anguish and despair. In trying to emphasize and relate to their loss I am finding I am at a loss to dig into my own memories and pull something out to use as a measuring stick.

Whenever a great tragedy hits that makes the news it’s a quick reminder for me of how life is fragile, fleeting, and above all–precious. I am becoming aware that when horrible circumstances fall on someone I immediately look for the believers in the situation. Where are the people of faith? Is God sustaining them right now? Hebrews 12:2 says …”looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”….. I’m searching faces on the camera lens, and words being recorded. Is faith rising to the surface among the piles of debris and is it present in the question some are having to ask ‘is my loved one alive?’ Is hope outweighing the agony of defeat?

Several days ago I posted on my social media wall that I will never tire of waking in the morning to the songs of birds and the laughter of children as they walk to the school bus. Being able to enjoy these two simple pleasures of life is an indication of my safe and unsuspecting mornings but  my  serene early hours pale in comparison to the mornings the good people of Moore have endured since the destruction of their community. I wonder: Are there still trees for the birds to find a resting place to launch into song? Is the laughter of children on the way to school  now replaced by the drone of heavy equipment moving debris, sifting through rubble, and rescue workers breathing deeply each time a layer of a demolished wall is moved in anticipation of finding someone’s lost child? I

And yet, even though the unspeakable has happened, the loss of life and property, life has resumed for the families in Moore. In the reality of  each passing day, the immediate responses of compassion and countless helping hands will ebb and flow, much like the tides of the oceans. Days will melt into weeks giving way to passing months and the tragedy of Moore, Oklahoma will become but a fleeting memory in the hearts and minds of a watchful nation. Only those who lived through the destructive forces and the robber of precious human life will mark that moment in time in the caverns of their hearts and minds.

So, in an effort to join them in marking this eventful day, my prayer for all the affected families is that one morning they will be able to echo the words of King David in Psalm 144:9 “I will sing a new song to You, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You…”