Last night, my son, Ryan came into my room before I went to sleep and told me that bad storms were supposed to be heading our way. Neither of us was too worried. I did however say, “I hope the basement doesn’t flood.”
I haven’t felt good this week, and I have an event this weekend. The thought of having to clean up a flooded basement seemed overwhelming. So, as I laid there trying to go to sleep, I even prayed about it. “Please, Lord, don’t let the basement flood.” Because I felt guilty praying such a silly prayer, I added, “Please, Lord, help the storms to just pass over. Help there to be no damage, no loss of life.”
Throughout the night, I woke up to sounds of lightening and thunder, and even in my grogginess I thought about the basement—and of course the possibility of tornadoes. In my sleepy haze, I repeated my prayer, minus the part about the basement (I think).
I slept in this morning, but, upon waking, one of the first things I thought about was whether or not the basement had flooded. Dreading to know, I didn’t jump up and go check. If there was water, it would wait. I was in no hurry to begin clean-up. Instead, I went to my office to make some preparations for the boys’ school day.
That’s when I noticed the 15 missed texts.
I saw the ones between my mom and sisters first, wanting to know if my son and daughter-in-law were OK.
This is how I discovered that tornadoes had hit Nashville.
Praise the Lord, my family and friends who lived in or near the affected areas were safe, but, obviously, it made me stop and think.
I am so thankful that so many people I know and love are safe, that my home and their homes are all intact. Yet my heart and mind keep thinking about all those whose experiences today are so different, those who are hurting and suffering—not only from the tornadoes but from a host of other ills that plague us in this fallen world.
Novelist Salman Rushdie once wrote, “Reality is a question of perspective;”.
A mile can seem so far away when it separates you from those you love. But a mile can seem so close when an EF-3 is barreling through your neighborhood. An hour can go so fast when you’re doing something fun. But an hour can seem a lifetime when you’re waiting for a twister to run its course. A flooded basement can seem such a problem until you consider losing your whole house in a mighty wind. Being tired and having an upset stomach can seem so bothersome until you think about what it might be like to be in the hospital with injuries from flying debris. Our day-to-day problems can seem so overwhelming until we think about what truly matters.
Life, it seems, is all a matter of perspective.
The sun is shining through my office window now. Spring seems to be on the horizon. The storms of last night have passed for me and my family. In this moment, my life, though far from perfect, is beautiful.
God, help me not to take it all for granted. Help me to remember what is truly important in this world and what is not. Help me to see my reality through the lens of Your Word, and please, Lord, be with all those in Nashville and all over the world whose view is not so pleasant, whose hearts are breaking, whose lives are shattered… all those who are hurting today.