Hello again, all! My apologies to you! I've never really been great at keeping up with the blogging world. And now it's been 5 months since I last wrote. What a 5 months it's been, too (though I don't so much mean that in a good way)... Nursing school is quite busy and stressful, and it can take a lot out of a person. Add a new job on top of that and your free time really starts to become scarce! I honestly don't know how people do this while raising children, I commend them beyond what words can express! In spite of the craziness, I did complete the semester with a 4.0! I was pretty stoked about that, and about the 3 month break from school that felt like would never arrive!
However, my excitement was brought to a screeching halt by a single event that would change my world forever. Unless you've been under a rock for 3 months, I'm sure you all know about the devastating EF-5 tornado that ripped through my hometown on May 22nd, killing 160 people and injuring hundreds of others, as well as destroying thousands of homes and businesses in its path. Around 5:20 pm the first sirens sounded that we were under a tornado warning (nothing out of the ordinary here in these parts), by 6:00 the tornado had torn through town and was still on the ground moving southeast of Joplin, though the size and intensity had weakened.
Whenever something like this occurs, you can't help but feel sort of shell-shocked. I mean, we see these things all the time. It's in the papers, on the tv... But they don't happen HERE. Yes, we're in tornado alley. We're used to watches and warnings all the time, especially in May. But in my entire life, there has never been something like this to hit Joplin. Basically the bad ones have always fallen somewhere AROUND Joplin, never actually IN Joplin. For the longest time I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing every time I drove through town. All we could do was just hug our friends and family, tell each other "I love you" and "I'm so glad you're okay!" We all shared our stories of what we experienced that night and the days and weeks to come. If we go out of town and someone asks us or sees where we're from, we get that inevitable look of concern and sadness. Often people that weren't even here ask to hear the stories from those of us who were.
For Matt and me, it was just a regular Sunday afternoon. We got up from a nap and were preparing to head to my brother's and his wife's house for a cook out. We didn't think too much of the sirens going off the first time, to be honest. Didn't think too much of it at all. There was something in me, though, that said we need to at least look at the tv while we have power and see what's going on. It said we were in the path of some potentially very volatile storms. My mom called telling us to stay put, and then called back a few minutes later to say if we hadn't done so we needed to take cover. This tornado was rain wrapped from the beginning, so you couldn't see it was an actual tornado coming at you. After hanging up with my mom the second time I could see and sensed a very serious change... I knew we had to take cover. I looked to Matt and told him we had to go NOW, and we ran into his parents house (from the guest house) and jumped in the closet with the rest of the family. As we were running for cover, Matt saw the wall of rain coming at us, and within seconds of shutting the closet door we were hit. It was a terrifying thing to live through, yet as I'm sharing my story I know so many others were not anywhere near as fortunate as we were. We had a lot of damage, but we were all safe, even the furry babies. Most of our stuff was spared, too. They said afterwards that it was probably F-2 or F-3 status as it came over us, then as it moved east it got much stronger. Many people were left with nothing and are still trying to rebuild their lives. 160 people left behind loved ones still trying to cope with their loss. People lost houses, jobs, cars, etc... Health care workers and officers that were in the hospitals or helping on the streets had to see and do things that one should never have to experience. Now is the point in time when the signs of post traumatic stress come out after a disaster like this. I know the world has moved on, the media has long been gone... but I ask you to please remember Joplin in your prayers. So many people still need that greatly.
As next Monday marks exactly 3 months since the tornado, I return to nursing classes as usual. I am less and less shocked as I drive through town. It saddens me to think I'm actually becoming desensitized, and what I see now is merely our new sense of "normal." Much of the debris has been removed, Joplin is beginning to rebuild. But we will never be the same. My heart is so full of gratefulness and pride in this community, in all who have come from miles and miles to help, donated their time and money and other resources. There cannot be enough thanks said! I'm also so thankful for the miracles of God that protected so many in a storm that could have easily taken thousands of lives. I don't know why we were safe when others weren't, but I have to believe it was an act of God that many more lives weren't lost. And I am so thankful to see how the Church has risen up in response to such devastation. Thank you Jesus, for giving strength to the weak and hope to the hopeless! His mercies in the midst of such darkness are far beyond measure! His faithfulness endures even when this life hits us with the worst. Please keep praying for His mercies on this city and that more people would continue to see His glory as we recover...
Well I have to return to orientation for school tomorrow morning, so I must bring this to an end. There really isn't much more to say about this summer. I'm still working in ICU and picked up extra hours while not in school, so that's taken up the majority of my time. Hopefully I'll have some more exciting, and hopefully happier, stories to share in the near future. Until we meet again...
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