Saturday night, my dad, Bob and his wife Jeanne, were watching television when they heard sirens. They moved to the laundry room, the safest place in the house (although the furnace is there as well), when they heard what sounded like a train go by. Debris, dirt and shattered glass started to come under the door to the laundry room. When the storm seemed to have passed, they assessed the damage. “It seemed like it wasn't that bad,” my dad said, “until we went upstairs to find that the side wall and a portion of the roof was gone.” My sister Tara and her son Zach, who live with them, had been at the movies. The next several hours were filled with texts and calls from family members making sure everyone was accounted for and safe. They tried to assess the damage in the dark and in the rain. And my brother Rob who lives in Texas had to convince my parents to walk away from their house with nothing but the clothes on their back, trusting that tomorrow is another day. Faith runs deep in my family – and the types of faith we practice run wide. We are varied in our styles and understanding of God. But when the walls blow away and the roof caves in, our differences become window dressing. Our faith as a family says the following things today:
And I believe most profound to us today is that we see and feel brokenness within our family being healed through this tragedy. And we are humbled by that. If you are the praying type, please join me in prayer today. I'm praying for the emotions that will emerge particularly for my little sister Catie (who no longer lived there but who seems to be feeling the hurt of losing her childhood home). I'm praying for the healing that I believe is happening within relationships. I'm praying for safety, from nails sticking up from boards on the ground and from the possibility of the roof caving in. Thank you to all who have donated. We assume much will be covered by insurance but believe that there are costs that will not. It is for these costs that we started the GoFundMe Site. One more thing - My dad has always loved this song and it seems more than appropriate for this week in our lives. I'm pretty sure it will be sung plenty of times today while they are working so I will leave you with it.
Sarah Touchet
12/30/2015 09:11:10 am
Dear Beth,
Judy Sanderlin
12/30/2015 03:03:34 pm
Have known your parents many years and ache for your dad and family in this tragedy. We have family who live in Moore, OK and know how this affects the family. 1/12/2020 08:09:59 pm
No matter how much we try to prove to others that we can stand and live on our own, life was basically made for us to interact and need other people. "No man is an island", so it would be ideal for us to make a connection with other in any way we can. Your life might be smooth right now, but what if it will get rough? I don't think that you can do and surpass it all alone. Don't make connection just because you need them., do it because that is what your heart is telling you to do! Comments are closed.
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