Storms of life

The radio weather forecast I heard while driving to work one day last week called for tornadoes. That's right - thunderstorms with possible hail, high winds, and tornadoes, not exactly a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Remembering a big ugly visitor to Dudley Shoals 10 years ago, I shuddered at that forecast.

On the afternoon of May 7, 1998, I was running errands in Lenoir with two of our children. Black clouds appeared ominous back toward home, but thunderstorms came and went that spring, so we weren't concerned. Driving back on Morris Creek Road I realized more than a mere thunderstorm had passed through.

Trees were down everywhere; guys with chainsaws were clearing roads. When we drove past a brick house that was partially crumbled I started to cry. Oh, God, please God, no God. Large trees were twisted off their trunks. Power lines were down. A wide swath of mangled woods revealed the path of a tornado. I had no idea what was going on a mile away, no idea how my kids and husband, friends and neighbors fared.

Pulling into our driveway to find the house still standing and everyone accounted for was sweet relief.

At 4:49 p.m. my husband and a friend had stood watching this “strange black cloud” that seemed to drop out of the sky over toward Sims Barbeque. Flashes of light came from the dark cloud, which they assumed was lightning. It moved rapidly out of view. Later that evening we learned that an F-4 tornado had ripped through Dudley on its way to Alexander County. Those flashes of light were transformers being knocked out by the funnel cloud.

The National Climatic Data Center estimated damage from the tornado to be $1.1 million, fairly low for an F-4 tornado. Part of that damage included Shirley Brinkley's home that was picked up, rotated, and slammed to the ground. By God's grace she was not home at the time. In a few seconds her home was destroyed and all her earthly possessions strewed a half-mile distance in the wind and rain.

So, I thought about Shirley when I heard that forecast. I wondered at the randomness of storms that come spinning like tops dropped from sky, going whichever way they please, and I felt vulnerable. I wondered how it would feel to arrive home to a house in shambles.

I do believe in prayer for protection and faith, but the truth is, storms do come into everyone's lives in one way or another.

While thinking tornado thoughts on that morning drive, I came upon a large sign near the side of the road. It read “Be Prepared To Stop.” That's a warning about road construction, but also good advice for life. Be prepared for the obstacles in life, the storms, the awful phone calls, the events that catch us off guard.

Heart preparation is needed for life's worst punches. I saw the grace and dignity of Shirley bearing the devastation of her home; however, the things she lost were just that - things. Her truest possessions weren't tangible; they were matters of the heart, like faith, hope, and love. She could look beyond this temporary life and realize the eternal. That's having a heart prepared for the worst.

Living vulnerable lives full of storms can be frightening. The Apostle Paul knew that when he wrote these words of assurance. “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (II Cor. 5:1)

Arlene Neal is a wife, mother of six children and a middle grades teacher with a Masters in Education from Appalachian State University. She lives in Granite Falls. Contact her by e-mail at nealies@hotmail.com.