Tornado of Life

We had a tornado come through Omaha last Thurday. It was an F-0 on the tornado scale. I've heard some interesting stories. My son and I were getting out of the car at our house when the sirens went off. There was no rain, not really a terribly dark sky. We looked at each other with some confusion. Were they testing the sirens again?
One of my shepherds had some damage. His insurance agent asked how fast the winds were going. I know there are a lot of good insurance agents out there. But that has to be one of the dumbest questions I've ever heard. As you drive through town, you can see some of the damage. Some windows blown out here, some debris there. All in all, we were very fortunate.
We had a tornado at church also. Oh, it wasn't the type I was just talking about. In fact, the damage was even worse. You see, we have marriages struggling, we have people dealing with illnesses, we have other strained relationships. The damage done by our tornado last week can be fixed. But in so many cases, relationships that are damaged are many times damaged beyond repair. Lives broken and scattered. Wounds that go far beyond the flesh.
I wish we would have some kind of warning system similar to the tornado sirens that go off when danger is imminent. When a relationship is about to go under, the alarm sounds. Instead, what happens is the relationship slowly dies and we don't find out about it until after it is seemingly beyond compare.
There is hope. David said, "Create in me a pure heart, O God." Create. Make something from nothing. Many times we can't heal the hurt, but God can. When the tornadoes of life come through and do their horrible damage, it may seem as if there is no hope. Ah, but there is is. As Mike Cope often says and as I like to sing, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." The next time you see one of those tornadoes coming, head to the shelter of Jesus' arms. There you'll find peace. There is safety. Have a great day. JW