Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Valley (08/10/06)
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TITLE: Turn Around! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Constance Gilbert
08/14/06 -
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The light turned green. I made a wild U-turn in front of the oncoming traffic and sped home. My shocked son was wide eyed and asked what was wrong. I concentrated on getting us home. As we quickly got out of the car, the emergency sirens began to wail. “To the basement. Now!” I yelled.
I grabbed a flashlight, water bottle, a battery radio, and followed my son down the stairs.
Turning on the radio we heard,“This is not a watch. A tornado has struck downtown. Take immediate cover.”
“Mommy, how did you know?”
“God, told me to go home; I didn’t know why.”
“I’m glad you listened, Mommy. We’ll be okay now, right?”
I stood holding him and we waited.
Later, on TV, we saw the devastation of not one, but three tornados. Hundreds were hurt, many were homeless, businesses and schools were destroyed, and five died when a parking deck collapsed. Damage was estimated at more than $50 million. Historical Bronson Park, in the heart of town, was leveled. The fountain, flower beds, benches, old fashion street lights, and nearly 100 ancient trees were reduced to piles of matchstick-like debris. Twigs from those trees were stuck into the sides of buildings for miles. The park’s loss would be a reminder for many years of what can happen in just two to three minutes.
I was unable to speak as the tears rolled down my cheeks. When God speaks to us- whether through an audible voice, through someone else, through our “gut feelings,” or through Scripture-
we often are not listening. We are too distracted by life to pay attention. For me, it was one of those I know that I know moments. I hesitated long enough to wait for the stoplight to change. I didn’t know whether I was running from or running to something. I do know that if a policeman had tried to stop me, I would have let him follow me home. I was that determined to get there.
As I watched the TV camera show the path of the downtown tornado, I knew why we had to turn “now.” We would have been right in its path with no where to go for safety. Our car would not have protected us.
For years the people of Kalamazoo had a false sense of security. The city was in a valley; storms always passed over us. We had hundreds of tornado watches every year. Mostly we ignored them or stayed close to home. The May 1980 tornado struck during a watch; it had not been changed to a warning. The sirens sounded after it was sighted and came down. The other two were in a different section of town and occurred simultaneously.
The valley did not save us. We are here today because of God’s intervention:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Twenty-six years later we know some of those plans. My son has a Christian business, is a husband and father, and leads a neighborhood Bible Study. I am a Parish Nurse, an inspirational writer and speaker, and a Gramma.
There have been other natural disasters- more tornados, a flood, a hurricane, and nearby forest fires. God has protected us in the valleys and in the mountains, where we now live. And He remains “my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” (Psalm 62:2 NIV)
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(p.s. I live in Grand Rapids - if you're still in Kalamazoo, we're practically neighbors!)