Wednesday 5 June 2013

Musings from Moore

Cyndi Beam

I was physically SHAKEN...before I was spiritually STIRRED.

I was DOWN for a while...but then I climbed OUT.

I am DISPLACED...but by no means am I HOMELESS.

My HOUSE is in ruin...but my HOME is stunningly gorgeous.

At no point during the storm did I fear for my LIFE...but for the first time in years, I'm truly ready to LIVE.

Jesus was BRUISED for my iniquities and CRUSHED for my sins...but I came out without a SCRATCH.

Some will say a half-inch thick sheet of METAL and a strong supporting FRAME saved my life...while I don't doubt the mechanics of my storm SHELTER, I am also positive that GOD had His finger on the HANDLE.


While some wish they had been BURIED in the rubble, God has given me a CLEAN SLATE.

Insurance takes care of STUFF. God takes care of PEOPLE. And in times like this, we take care of EACH OTHER.

"For it is by GRACE I have been saved through FAITH, and that not of myself. It is a GIFT from GOD."

I'm learning the difference between a problem and an inconvenience. Waiting in long lines of traffic and having to show my drivers' license to enter my neighborhood was no fun. Having to replace my prescription medicine was a bother. Going car shopping is never a joy.

From the moment I came out of my storm shelter, or within a few more hours at least, many, many people who lost loved ones or suffered personal injury in the storm had a problem. I lost my house and most of its contents, but I'm learning this is an inconvenience. It's a MAJOR inconvenience. However, God's got me, so right now, I have no problems. Just a very long to-do list.

Amen?



Editor's Note: Cyndi was in the tornado zone when the storm hit Oklahoma. "I live a block away from Plaza Towers Elementary School. I was in my underground shelter when the freight train ran over it. I survived F5 & am here to proclaim "Praise God in ALL Things." Cyndi's story was featured on American Public Media's Marketplace June 3. Listen to the interview here.


wof-at-mooreEarly on Friday morning, May 31, a caravan of volunteers left the Women of Faith office and headed north to Oklahoma, where we connected with Samaritan’s Purse at their temporary headquarters at Emmaus Baptist Church. After orientation and paperwork our group—staff, friends, family (including speaker Sheila Walsh), a local Women of Faith Group Leader, and more—pulled on orange volunteer t-shirts and headed to what used to be a neighborhood to help clear foundations and dig through home sites for salvageable items.
There are no words to adequately describe what it was like. Photos cannot do it justice. Until you stand in the midst of devastation, with nothing but piles of rubble as far as the eye can see . . . until you comb through mud, insulation, and sheetrock praying to find precious reminders of a battered victim’s deceased mom . . . until you hug someone who lost everything but their life . . . there are just no words.
As we worked, people from a variety of organizations drove past almost hourly offering water, food, sunscreen, anything we needed. We stopped digging long enough to present a Bible to a homeowner (now an empty lot owner) whose foundation had already been cleared. He told us about a boy from his church youth group . . . a boy who died in the elementary school half a block from where we stood. Thankfully, our new friend assured us young Christopher Legg had been a believer and was now home with Jesus.
As we started back to work, word came that another potentially dangerous storm system was on the way. It was time to go. We drove back to Texas just ahead of the next round of tornadoes to hit this devastated area. Please join us in prayer for all those affected by these destructive storms, not just in Moore but in so many areas around the country.
See photos from our time in Moore here. For more information on how you can help with the recovery, please visit our partners Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision.

Women of Faith Daily
Musings from Moore


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