And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:23-27 (ESV)
Today, is a much different day, than what I recall from a year ago. Today, the sun is shining, and gives the false hope of warmth. As I step outside there is a bitter cold breeze, and you can sense winter is approaching. A year ago, you would not believe it was mid-November. I remember vividly walking out of my house to head to church. Instead of a rush of cold wind, it felt like late spring. The air was humid. The atmosphere eerily calm. And I could see dark clouds rolling in from the west. I remember thinking, “This could be an interesting day”. Growing up in the midwest, you can sense when a strong storm is heading your way. But I don’t think my community could even fathom what was coming.
Growing up, I had a love-hate relationship with storms. They scared me to the point of tears. And then later on, I couldn’t help but be fascinated bye them. Driving westward, the sky was getting incredibly dark. The wind picked up as I walked into church. (Photo of the sky, walking into church)
Our service went as any other Sunday would have. As Pastor Ritch is preparing to close in prayer, one of the Pastors approached the pulpit and whispered something to Pastor Ritch. I could sense many things bye the appearance of his face. Concern, shock, maybe even sorrow. At that moment, we received the news. Just minutes ago, Washington, Illinois (just across the river from us) had been devastated by a tornado. Houses were leveled. You could audibly hear the concern throughout the sanctuary. We have a sister church in Washington. People lived in Washington. Our minds were filling with tons of questions. How many were hurt? Are there any among the dead? Some were even asking, is my house still standing. As I prepared to head to my small group, I glanced at my phone. Tons of missed texts and phone calls displayed on my screen. One from my brother, who lives in Chicago, was asking, “Are you alright? We’ve heard about the storm.” I immediately let him know I was safe, but also I realized if Chicago received reports of the small town of Washington, then it was really bad.
Photos were flooding Facebook and other social medias. What I saw, I couldn’t believe. I thought, this cannot be central Illinois in the middle of November. These photos look like places in Oklahoma, or Joplin, Missouri. Illinois? Really? But it was true. My neighboring towns of Washington, Pekin, and East Peoria had been hit hard. (To the left is photo courtesy of Washington, IL Tornado Recovery Facebook page.) It all seemed so surreal. The pictures were horrifying, and I could only imagine what it looked like in reality. The devastation was incredible. I had coworkers whose homes were completely destroyed. Some people mentioned friends, who came out of their house untouched, yet every other house on the street was gone. However, there is some greatness that comes from this story. Only 3 lives were lost, that Sunday morning. Word quickly spread that they believe the reason for so low of fatalities was due to one simple fact: people were at church. In the near 15 minutes the EF-4 tornado was on the ground, not one church was hit.
Our sister church meets regularly at Five Points Recreational Center, which quickly became a emergency center. As terrible as the aftermath appears, I (as well as many others) can’t help but think God was protecting this community. The house I shared with 2 roommates at the time, although across the river, was less than 10 miles away from where the twister touched down. I often think, had this storm shifted north just a few minutes sooner, it would have gone through the heart of Peoria, and I cannot confidently say the death toll would have been as low.
A year later, and the community of Washington is still recovering. But they never lost hope. (Right- path of destruction over Washington, IL)
Even when the storms roll in, whether physical like in Washington, emotional, or spiritual… the Lord will remain by my side.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Left- massive tornado in Washington, IL 11-17-13
