A Day to Remember

Arkansas was hardest hit by the tornadoes that brought death and destruction yesterday. In other states, too, people died and property was destroyed. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who were killed. Thankfully, my nephew and his family are safe but many people can’t say that this morning and I am so sorry for your loss. We here in NW Arkansas were spared the tornadoes but it was an odd day; a day that was too warm, too windy, with a feeling of unrest in the air. Even if we had not had the warnings from meteorologists (and these are vastly important) our nerves would have been on edge and our senses on high alert.

Modern technology is wonderful and essential in letting us know when storms are forming or on the way. We are warned and we need to take appropriate action. People didn’t always have well-trained meteorologists nor television, radio, and the internet to pinpoint the danger. A few years back, we had to rely on other things, the actions of animals, the color of sunrises and sunsets, the direction of the wind, and, as I said, the feeling in the air. It seems to me that the more we advance technologically, the less we depend upon our own observations and the more we depend upon others.

I am thankful for the weather bureau, the hard-working men and women who keep us abreast of possible danger that might drop down from the skies. We need them even more because we have gotten away from observing nature and living close to the land. Their jobs are essential in our society.

So now, central Arkansas begins the huge task of recovery, but for those who lost loved ones, the recovery will be long and slow, if at all. I don’t know why these things happen; I just know they happen. My parents saw a lot of grief during their lifetimes and I remember a particular Scripture that was a favorite of my mother: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).