Thankful for Tornadoes
Saturday, April 13 started as a regular morning. Many of our high school students were planning to attend prom that evening. But the day quickly spiraled into a day we would never forget. My family and I took shelter in a closet and listened to an EF3 tornado leave our town in ruins. While my family was blessed to suffer no damage or injuries, many families were not. A large section of the town was destroyed, taking many people’s whole livelihood. Our little town was battered, but it’s what happened after the tornado that’s important.
Immediately after the storm hit, our little church family took action. The question running through everyone’s mind at that point was, “What can we do to help?” So we started doing one of the things we do best: cooking. The whole town was without power, but we had BBQ grills, and the supermarket allowed me to buy groceries for hamburgers.
There is no doubt in my mind that everything done that day was a reflection of God pushing us out of fear and into productivity and resilience. We were also able to provide food and supplies all around our community. At that moment, we were able to use the materials God gave us to relieve the situation and encourage those with little hope.
Later the Churches of Christ Natural Disaster Relief sent a truck full of resources to help our community, and we unloaded it within minutes of its arrival. But we had a problem: we were not getting responses like we hoped from the side of the town that was hit. We advertised so people knew what we had, but the turnout was very low. One woman, who lived on that side of Franklin for years, came in saying she had to put aside her pride to come get help. What she said next really grabbed our attention: “A large part of that community wouldn't cross those tracks for anything—not for all the tea in China.”
The railroad tracks, for most, were a dividing wall for what I called “cold segregation.” Many will remember the term “Cold War” and what that meant. For years we lived in a state of political hostility. Our weapons were threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare. In many ways, our little town grew up with an attitude that we could shop, eat out, go to school and attend sporting events together, but at the end of the day you stay on your side of the tracks and we will stay on ours.
When we understood that it was pride, stubbornness, and ignorance that kept people from getting aid, we decided that if they wouldn’t come to us, we would go to them! The motivational word in the Great Commission is go! And that’s what we did. With one call we had 15-20 trucks with trailers to take aid to the people. We were also able to collect information so we could follow up with them later. We’ve all heard that before you can take care of the spiritual, you must take care of the physical.
I handed a box of food to one gentleman who looked at me and asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Because Jesus said I was supposed to. Please take this in Jesus’s name and be blessed.”
He hugged me and said, “I’ve lived in Franklin for 60 years, and you are the first white boy I've ever hugged.”
I don’t have enough space to write about the rest of the recovery efforts and the amount of monetary donations we received to help our community, but here are the two big lessons.
First, every church needs a disaster recovery plan. With social media and the speed of information, your church will receive aid and donations, and you need a plan that will help you respond when the time comes.
Second, God calls us to go! Go with whatever we have. Go to other countries, go overseas, and yes, go over the tracks. God can tear down whatever wall is in the way as long as you are willing to go!
While the storm opened many opportunities to love and serve our community, the need to show Christ’s love is everywhere. Every day we are called to love God and love our neighbor. I am thankful for tornadoes.
