May 20th

You know that moment where you know your life is about to change completely? May 20th was that moment.

I sat at work when the storms came in and heard a clap of thunder and immediately thought that sounds bad. I called Tim (he was on his motorcycle because he had a bike class to teach) and told him he needed to head home before the storms hit. Within 2 hours everything was changed.

Cell service was down, an F5 had just ran through my home, and I had yet to hear from my husband. Every fear as a wife hit. Then I thought of my sister and her 3 kids and panicked.

I left work early and couldn't reach anyone to let them know my status or find out the status of anyone I love. As I drove through the devastation I was sickened. What once was the peaceful, beautiful town I called Moore was now a field full of debris. It was hard to remain calm, not knowing how my own home was.

5 hours I sat in my car, surrounded by the damage. For 5 hours I was completely selfish.

My body hurt, I was hungry, and I had to pee. Instead of looking at the damage and thinking Dear God watch them, I became bitter and selfish because I had no idea what I had or didnt' have. For that I was changed again.

I heard a news story while I waited and I cried. God was not the cause of the damage but he would be our saviour through it. I prayed for those who lost, I prayed for those who died, I prayed for those who had the same heart I had just had.

When I got home I laid in my bed, under a roof, with all my loved ones and thought. Thank you God for protecting us, but please wrap your arms around all those without a bed or roof.

Losing something is hard. Losing your home is hard. Losing what you thought was safe is hard. I can't begin to describe the sadness I feel for the citizens of Moore, Shawnee, Carney, etc. Rebuilding will take a long time, but I have seen the goodness in the people surrounding those communities.

I have seen the hearts of men turned. There is so much love and support that this rebuild can only make us stronger. We are Oklahomans, we are Moore. We will make it through and throughout it all we will come out the other end stronger, bigger, and closer.

I pray God continues to protect, hold, and bless his people. I pray those families that lost their loved ones know the world is praying for comfort, that they are in the thoughts of everyone.

The stories we will have for our children, and the stories our children will have in years to come will be what defines us. It will be what makes us look up and say, "Yes, I am an Oklahoman. I love our state, our people, our community, our family."