me & the tornado

Title of my new book: Me & the tornado: Why I didn't run a 5K on Saturday

Fri 3/15
9:30 pm

I checked the dryer, waiting for my running clothes to be done. They should have been, but they were still a little damp. I was frustrated b/c I wanted to be at Ryan's house before 10 to catch Obama on Anderson Cooper.

9:38 pm
The tornado hits.

9:42 pm
Lisa (Ryan's roommate) calls, but he misses it. He later hears the voicemail: are you at home? are you ok? call me back as soon as you get this.

9:50 pm
We leave my apt for Ryan's house, totally oblivious to any severe weather and/or tornado.

9:57 pm
We drive under 10th street, CNN is in view and Ryan's exit is approaching. Lisa calls back and informs Ryan that a tornado has hit Cabbagetown. It also hit CNN, and Lisa has abandoned the rest of the graphics for Anderson Cooper and is also heading to Cabbagetown.

We reach Boulevard & Dekalb. Cars are backed up the tunnel toward the Cotton Mill Lofts.

I lose track of time at this point. As we come to Dekalb, we see the lofts in total darkness, but what looks like a huge chunk missing. I start to cry and beg Ryan to not make me go any further. The fence is flattened in front of us. Debris everywhere. Ryan says we have to keep going. Two cars crashed on Dekalb. The Krog tunnel is pitch black dark. We reach Powell, only to be turned around because a huge tree is on the ground blocking the way. We find our way through to Ryan's house. People are just standing everywhere in shock. The only light comes from headlights. I pull into the driveway, sticks are crunching.

Amazingly, there is no damage. Ryan talks Lisa through what we see. The front yard furniture is toppled, but not broken. The windows are all intact. The power is out, but we find flashlights and candles. Debris litters the backyard, but everything is still there, including the rooftop furniture. Next door, a huge tree has fallen across a front yard. On the other side, the neighbor just wakes up and asks why everyone is in the street. Turns out he slept through the whole thing.

After a couple hours, we go back to my apt for the night. We don't get much sleep. The storms start again early in the morning. Crazy loud thunder and bright hot lightning. Around 5:40 am, I get an email saying the Downtown Dash has been cancelled.

As soon as we can, we head back to Cabbagetown to check out the damage in daylight:

Ryan's front yard

the neighbor's yard



these houses are one block south of Ryan

the lofts in daylight, viewed from Dekalb

So I didn't run a 5K on Saturday. But I did see God's grace and protection. If my laundry had been done at 9:30, like I had planned, we probably would have been in Cabbagetown when the tornado hit. And for Ryan's house to escape literally unscathed, when just a few houses down were completely destroyed...I can't look at that and NOT see how God protected me.

I kept thinking over and over, even if it's a little out of context, how God was holding me in the palm of His hand. Literally, no danger could harm me there. He kept me there, all night, and He keeps me there always.

16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
Is. 49:16

I was so scared, but felt so safe. We kept praying, and still are. But I know God was with us, and He was so good to us this weekend!