Recently, a tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma and devastated the community. I sat in my apartment watching it happen on tv and felt completely helpless. What could I possibly do to make this stop? How could I make this any better?
For those who don’t know, I lived in Norman, about 20 minutes south of where the May 20th tornado hit. I’ve gone to the Warren movie theater on numerous occasions and have been in the area plenty of times. Seeing the community, my community, devastated like that was simply heart-wrenching.
However, this is not a story of sadness and defeat, but rather a story of joy and hope.
I had told my boss the last day I could work was Wednesday of that week and had planned on driving back to Ohio on Thursday. I had it all figured out. When I’d leave, when I’d get home, when I could get to camp.
I’m a planner. Big time. Just to give you a glimpse, every night I write down on a sticky note exactly what I have to do for the next day, in the order I have to do it. I’ll write down that I need to shower, that I need to go to work, that I need to send an email. Everything. So needless to say, I had my last few days in Oklahoma, my few days at home, and my trip back to camp pretty planned out.
Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
The Lord had different plans for me. After the tornado, I simply could not walk away. I NEEDED to help in some way or another. I ended up staying in Oklahoma an extra two days, spending 8 hours each day working at Journey Church, a disaster relief donation center.
Those two days were incredible. They were also incredibly exhausting. I was moving out of my apartment that week, so I had already spent a great deal of time moving heavy boxes, cleaning, and jamming everything into my tiny car. I was already tired. But I was blessed to still have a home, running water, and electricity. I couldn’t complain.
At Journey, I worked in the donation center, where volunteers would bring in items they unloaded from a truck (semi after semi continuously rolled in) and place them on a table. From there, the volunteers in my room would take them to the particular section of the room where they belonged, whether it be clothing, trash bags, toiletries, linens, etc. I spent the majority of my time working in the toiletries area with my roommate. We took in toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, body wash, bars of soap, and more hand sanitizer than you could ever imagine. It was a crazy few days and each night we would be completely exhausted when we got home.
I am so incredibly thankful to have been a part of this Oklahoman community the past four years and wish I could still be there, helping with more recovery. Seeing the generosity and selflessness of so many people was truly inspiring.
Please continue to pray for Oklahoma as more tornados have hit recently and there are still so many in need.
