We started getting ready for school, thinking that the worst was over. Abbie had a business trip to Canada. He headed out, then the kids and I headed out. I had a bad feeling. I dropped John Campbell at school, worrying about him being there. I had a nagging in my heart. Then I took Jackson Wynn to his school. They had no power. I had felt like God was trying to get me to do something, so I took Jackson Wynn with me and went back to the primary school to check out John Campbell. By now we knew there were more lines of storms on the way.
I was glad to have both boys with me. We had a few more tornado warnings, as storms went to the north and south of us, going through neighboring counties as well as ours. Then, a small break in the storms. The sun came out and it heated up. I knew we were in trouble as the air even felt unstable. Around 3:00 in the afternoon, a nasty one came toward us, coming from Cullman where it had just gone through downtown. A tornado was on the ground. I was so frightened. I sat in the hall bath with the boys and prayed. The electricity went out and I knew it was bad. I couldn't really hear anything outside. We waited. A tornado had passed within less than three miles of our house. An EF4 - taking out houses and killing five people in one family, where there were nine seeking safety in one house. It crossed the highway and continued taking out houses, one of them belonging to a little boy in John Campbell's class. I didn't now any of this. I got the kids out once the sirens stopped and checked out things outside. It was already clear again. I talked to our neighbors and they stood out on their back porch and watched it pass. He said he could see it. My friend Betty said she could hear it as it passed around the back of her area, following the river.
There would be more tornado warnings that day for us, and many more tornadoes for Alabama and the Southeast. 254 people killed in Alabma alone. 340 killed in the entire region. I still can't believe the amount of damage. We were without power for five days. We lost water for a few hours. It was very stressful while it was happening, but I had no idea just how bad it was everywhere else. There are so many devastated areas you just can't remember them all. On Saturday, we drove to Gadsden to get the boys a good meal. We stayed until dark and then headed back to our house. We had five nights of sleeping in total darkness. But, we were so fortunate. So many people lost everything. Food out of our fridge is nothing in comparison. A monster tornado hit Tuscaloosa - so much damage done. All counties in North Alabama had damage. Driving to Gadsden, we saw thousands of trees down until we got out of Albertville. Just so much damage. I can't say that enough.
God sustained us through it all. We prayed to God as we sat huddled in that bathroom. God still has work for us to do - still has plans that He wants to see fulfilled in our lives, because we were spared. So many people were spared. It is amazing. And watching the aftermath, you realize just how lucky you are. God has been good to us. My two boys were real troopers through it all. Abbie was in Canada until late Thursday night and then he was at work the entire time, trying to keep from shutting down other auto manufacturers across the US and Canada. We hardly saw him.
I've realized that there's no use in worrying about everything. You do what you can and keep moving forward. You can't control life. God is in control of it. I think I'm finally learning to put some things down and let God have His way. I've always struggled with that. I'm trusting God, that His plans are better than my plans.
Here is some media of the Tornado that hit our area.
Video of the tornado going through Cullman County.
Tornado coming through Arab, just north of the city, in the Ruth community.
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