Second-deadliest twister day in U.S. history.

My overview of that night.

After work Wednesday, the weather was starting to look pretty grim again and I wasn't up for being home alone in Ringgold, so I went to my sister's house in East Ridge. Luckily, her boyfriend came over as well... I imagine Ash would have been much more frantic than she already was if he wasn't there. We were able to watch the news for about 20 minutes before the power shut off. We hunted down candles, lighters, and two tiny flashlights.

We were on our phones trying to stay updated with the forecast (and also reassuring my mom and others again and again that we were okay). At one point, the rain was pouring, hail was falling, and the wind was whistling. We huddled in Ashley's closet for around 15 minutes, until it calmed down outside. When we emerged from the cramped space, it was barely sprinkling outside. We heard a bunch of commotion down the street so we went out to rubberneck. A tree had fallen on one of the houses but as far as we could tell, no one had been hurt. A different neighbor had a tree partially fallen over, but it didn't cause too much damage. Another house had shingles that were pulled off. Ash's next door neighbor had a tree in their backyard that fell into the yard of the neighbor on their other side. It was uprooted!

You can't really tell from the picture, but there was a huge, gaping hole underneath. It was crazy.

We stayed outside in our front yard for a while. We let our phones charge in our cars while we waited until the next spurt of bad weather. It was the way we knew what was going on elsewhere.

At about 8:45, I believe, is when we got more of the unforgiving weather. There was constant lightening and we didn't know it at the time, but this was around the time of the Ringgold tornado. We spent a while in the bathtub for good measure. It was uncomfortable, but better safe than sorry.

The rest of the night was spent without power and in the dim lighting of candle light. The weather didn't get any more out of control than a constant rain and significantly less wind pressure than before. We were able to fall asleep around midnight.

Ringgold Tornado.

My house is in Ringgold, closer to Fort Oglethorpe than the heart of Ringgold, so we were blessed and didn't have any damage; our power never even turned off. It is so sad and heart breaking to have something like this happen so close to my home.

The monstrous EF4 tornado, with winds estimated between 175-190 mph, destroyed many homes and businesses. There were many deaths and many who were injured, not only in Ringgold, but all over the south. According the the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "a total of 342 have died in seven states. Alabama was the hardest hit with 250 deaths... making it the second-deadliest twister day in U.S. history." Luckily, parts of Tennessee will be getting government funding to help with repair, losses, and such.

If you click here, the Facebook page of the Chattanooga Times Free Press has tons of devastating pictures from the aftermath of the storms and tornadoes. Photographer Greg Beasley does as well; more, even. And, Wikipedia does a pretty good job with details from all of the tornadoes that happened. Here is some information on how to help if you would like to. My church is getting together and planning on ways to help with the relief. I am sure many of the churches around here are doing so if you would like to check with them. There are so many things you can help with.

Praying for the helping hand of God in every situation caused by these storms.
Praying a peace over the victims, for they will be taken care of.
Praying that this disaster will bring lost souls, who are looking for help and answers, to Christ.
Praying that Christian brothers and sisters come together as one to show the love of Christ through giving, serving, and loving.

May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.

I've been staring at the cursor blinking, trying to think of what to write and this is exactly what sums up all of my current thoughts: I miss my family so much it hurts. I talked on the phone to both of my sisters earlier and tried to talk to my brother but got his voicemail. I want so badly for all of us to be under the same roof right now. 


It seems now that I only get to see Brandy and Mat once every six months and that just isn't cutting it. We miss so much of each other's lives because of all of the miles. It makes me sad. 


I get to see Cody quite a bit more than I get to see B and MJ. We usually only let a month or two pass before we get to visit each other, which is good ... but not great. I am ready for him to move home (to Chattanooga: his real home) so I can always have him around.


Ashley, luckily, lives about 12 minutes from me. But even so, I don't see her as often as I could; not meaning months or even weeks, but I have the luxury of having my sister here and we sometimes go days without seeing each other. But at least I have her here. She is my security blanket.


I wish my siblings and their significant others would come here so we could all live together and have one big party house. I would be forever happy. They light up my life. :)


---


On most days, my mood is, well, "blah"... if that makes any sense. My job has me so unhappy that it's beginning to feel normal to be that way, and I know that is not the way it's supposed to be. After work, I don't do much of anything up until the point where it is so late that I crash in bed, only to wake up early and do it again. I am about to turn 22 years old. I think it's time to find my calling. 


I probably sound really depressed right now, and I see why you think so, but it's more that I am in a state of apathy. And that is really bad. It's so hard to pull yourself out of it because it can get to be really comfortable and safe that way. Trust me, I am in prayer about it, but I need God to physically shake it out of me. Change it up. Make things better. Being apathetic will keep you in a standstill, never moving forward, never progressing. It's scary if you think about it.


My fear of the change is what God is really working on with me right now. On more than one occasion this week, He has told me that it's my fear holding me back and that the fear doesn't excuse me from anything. I need to be working towards His will by being His disciple. A true disciple of the Lord. That means walking as Jesus walked, doing as He did, loving as He did, and spreading the Word as He did. Only then will I find true joy and the plan for my life. I find that I doubt too often that I can do anything; I don't like to fail. 


Please, just be in prayer for me that I may hear God and find the direction I need to go. I can't stay in my situation any longer without going completely insane.


Listen to this <3




Movies seen in theaters: 6
DvDs bought: 18