Friday, March 2, 2012

Blessed I Am Not

A terrible storm featuring deadly tornadoes raged through Kentucky and Southern Indiana today. We've been anticipating it for days. The kids and I had our little haven from the storm prepared in the basement, and they spent most of the afternoon playing down there as I kept my eyes glued to the television watching the progressing storm.

As we all waited for the front to come in, I rolled my eyes through the "sending up prayers that the storm misses us" and "God bless us during these storms" messages on Facebook, as I know the heart of these sentiments comes from wanting our own friends and families to be safe during natural disasters. But after seeing the absolutely devastating coverage of the areas around us, I cannot just roll my eyes at "thank God" and "God blessed us." Asserting that a god blessed us by not ravaging us with tornadoes, while our neighbors to the north and to the east received such destruction? I'm sorry, but every single "Thank you, God" has an implicit "...for getting them instead of us" tagged onto it. How can it not?

Is it comforting to think that natural disasters such as these tornadoes are completely random and totally unfair? No, of course it isn't comforting to think that. It sucks. But the alternative, that an invisible hand is up there guiding them, deciding whose prayers are more worthy, saving some while destroying others? That would be considerably less comforting to me.

The storm victims could use much more than prayers. Please consider donating to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. It's so easy to text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

5 comments:

  1. I saw the news feed yesterday, and when it said "Kentucky," I thought of you. No prayers sent up, though--more like, "I wonder where Leanne is and how they're faring." Well enough to be posting --thank the void!

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  2. Glad you fared OK down there. We're in SW Ohio and there's a lot of damage to very near neighboring towns and suburbs, but it went just south of us. Phew. I've been very annoyed by all the "thank gods" from every angle. How about "Wow, thanks to all those first responders who left their warm homes to slog through the cold, wet rain and wind to try to help people trapped under their collapsed homes in the pitch black." Man alive.

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    1. Well said, Sarah, and I'm glad you weathered the storm safely as well. Those first responders and those who are still responding are the ones worthy of my thanks, for sure. And I prefer sending actual help, in the form of a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief, instead of prayers.

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  3. Glad you and your family are safe. Lexington didn't get hit hard like they were thinking it would.

    I did the same thing as you with all of the FB posts about "pray for us", "pray for them", "Thank god this and that".

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