Adventures in Bad Weather

So, yesterday we had a bit of a run-in with some bad weather in Georgia (and elsewhere). For us, the worrying started earlier in the day when the storms started hitting Kentucky, and there are people in the church who have kin up there. Then there were reports of storms from Alabama. Our sister church has connections to a family in Alabama, and they were hit hard last year, resulting in a death of a neighbor; ever since then, a man from our church has been helping the families rebuild their homes, and others have often contributed help as well. So we spent the afternoon praying for those in the path of the storm.

The weather indicated that north Georgia would be hit by the storm, but we weren't sure how much we would be impacted. Dad and Mandy made plans to go to Uncle Josh's for the evening, so Mom, Seth, and I stayed home and hung out. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We had some rain, and lightning occasionally flashed. Sometime around 9 PM we learned that we were under a tornado watch (which quickly turned into a warning). I started watching weather.com, and some ladies on facebook were giving updates on where the storms were. Mom and Dad started texting each other, and we learned that Duluth (where he was) was in the thick of it. Mandy later told us that everyone (Uncle Josh's entire family, Dad, and her) went down into the basement and stayed in Noah's room for a while. From what I understand, the tornado was about five minutes away from them, though it (or another one, reports are sketchy) may have been closer. Then, via facebook, I learned that there was another tornado (or it might have been the same one; I haven't been able to find out how many tornadoes were in Gwinnett County last night) was in Suwanee, near the Mall of Georgia (which is about fifteen minutes away from us). About ten minutes later, our town was declared as being in the clear of bad weather. But now it was our turn to worry about our family and friends to the northeast, towards Jefferson and Winder, as the storm headed that direction. As far as I know, we haven't heard from them, though I've seen people on facebook or gmail, so I'm supposing they're all right. When we went to bed later that night, it started raining heavily and lightning grew more frequent. And now, this morning, it is cold and very wet.

In short, it was a rather interesting night. With texting about tornado warnings, facebook posts, and listening to a weather program, it was a bit stressful. But, otherwise, we are doing fine. I'm thankful for the Lord's protection last night, especially towards those who were closer to the bad parts, like Uncle Josh's family. As I lay in bed last night, I thought of one of the hymns we sing in church (which is based off of a psalm); one of the lines says "the lightnings flash at His command; He holds the tempest in His hand." It was very encouraging to think about how the weather is completely under God's control and how He protects His people, even in bad times.