May 17, 2010

• Tornadoes, Hail, & My House

  Well, Oklahoma has sure been showing up in the news a lot, because of the weather!

  Yesterday’s hail storm was the worst one, ever, on record. 

         
                                                  Picture from TV news coverage.

  Some of what I saw:

  *  An aerial view of a golf course showing the hail covering the grass and paved drives.  A man with a snow plow pushing the ice off the little paved roads.

  *  Same aerial view showing leaves stripped from trees and, where it wasn’t white as snow from hail, it was green, green, green (everywhere) because of the massive leaf coverage. 
  
  *  Hail piled up on a residential street, with adults standing next to the mountain of icy balls.  The pile of hail was taller than the people.

  *  A man holding an eight ball (pool table) and a piece of hail in one hand  – they were the same size.

  This was a million dollar+ damaging storm, on the heels of the tornado damage from last week.

            

  Beautiful homes had their windows knocked out, their blinds torn up, and (in some cases) their furniture ruined when hail broke the window’s barrier and came INSIDE.  They said the winds had 70mph gusts and you can imagine what it would be like to have golf balls or cue balls thrown at your house, en mass, at 70mph.  Lots of BIG dents and breakage.

  People caught in their cars, got down on the floor boards for protection from the glass of the windows breaking into millions of bits.  Today, their vehicles have shattered windows and dents, like someone took a hammer to demolish the hood, the trunk, etc.

             

  There’s more than one roof that has been completely ripped to shreds, leaving the people inside their homes looking up at the sky through the holes in their ceilings! 

  I was lying on my bed, flipping through a book catalog, the girls were lying down quietly in their own rooms.  Out of no where, the tornado sirens went off.  I yelled for everyone to get their pillows and go to the tornado hallway.  I turned on the TV to see what was going on and desperately searched for my cell phone. 

  They weren’t kidding.

  Out of a clear and sunny, Sunday sky, there were tornadoes forming all over.  The tornadoes were followed by baseball and golf ball size hail.

                

  So very grateful, our prayers (before Sunday’s lunch) where effective and our home and vehicles were virtually unscathed from the fury that came from the sky!

  I so appreciate my home.  It feels cozy.  It feels welcoming after a day running errands.  I like the new colors we’ve chosen for the walls.  I’m so grateful for the new sofa set in the den.

  I love homeschooling my children at the kitchen table, while I hear the washer running to clean our clothes, or smell the sweetness that permeates the air from a cake baking.

  I love our pets.

  And, we ALL love having company and sharing our home with others.

                         **************************************************************************************************

  I read this a day or so ago, in my “Simple Abundance” book, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  Although much of the book departs from Christian beliefs, I sift through each day’s reading and (occasionally) find a golden nugget.

  This quote is one such nugget:

  I have taken this wisdom to heart, especially in how I perceive the work I do in our home.  Drudgery can be transformed through a willing and open heart, into labors of love.  Begin with the words that describe, or name, your creative efforts.  Let “chores” become “tasks.”  Stop calling your daily round “housework” and begin to call it “home caring.”  Redefining our work casts a subtle but powerful spell over the subconscious mind.  And after all, caring – for yourself, your loved ones, your pets, and your home is truly what you are doing when you dust, change the kitty litter, sort the laundry, drive the car pool, prepare the meals, and work in the garden.

  I *do* look at my home and chores with fondness.  It feels good to transform mess into order.  It feels good to supply my family with nutritious food.

                    

  I’m so grateful God kept our little haven safe from the fury of Oklahoma’s May weather!

  Be Blessed  ~

  • 12:10 pm
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