Devastation

 It is with sad heart that I am having to write this post. 💔 

All day Friday, we had been watching the weather move clear across the states from the west to the east. That night at 9:30 pm we kept getting alerts and notifications on our phones to GET IN YOUR SAFE PLACE AND SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!!!!!! 

We kept calling, texting and checking in with our family and friends. 

There was nothing we could do, but wait. We could not do a thing. You see, we were not there. We are in another state that had no storms whatsoever.  All I could do was PRAY. 

Family finally got back with us. A tornado had just come through close by and surrounding counties in another state with more family and friends.  My momma and daddy included. So much devastation. Thousands of people out of power, ours included. Our sons and daughters in law were hunkered down in one house thankfully. Our oldest who works for the local power company got called in to help fix our communities and counties power outages. You see, there is a myth, that people who work for power companies get special privileges and there's is the first homes to get power restored. THAT IS A LIE!!!!!

Everyone was ok, scared, but ok. But more bad weather was threatening and coming. Another tornado was on that ones heels. My son is out in the bad weather trying to get to work to get into a work truck. Lightning striking everywhere and thunder rolling. 

An hour later, here came the other one. Families scrambling to get back into safety. Some, never came out of their shelters from the first one. 

This, this is what rocked our community. Came within a quarter mile of our home on our end of it. 

I got this picture from a news source the next day. We finally got a hold of family again. Again, all were safe and our homes were safe. Some, not so. 

Our area and surrounding areas, have been devastating.  Homes leveled, people trapped in their homes, homes with just damage, and sad to say lost lives. Search and Reacue teams were sent out and still looking through rubble today as I write this. 

We see pics on Facebook and other places of the routes and disaster they left behind and my heart hurts. 

It looks like a war zone and I had severe flash back of when this exact same thing happened back in 2013. I know my boys were having flash backs to a younger selves when we were in the exact same house with a loving praying grandmother who was pleading the blood of Jesus over us all in 2013. Trees had fell on that house then and much damage. Same scenario. Just years later. My husband was out of town during that one too and when he was called home, as he drove he could not believe his eyes. But as he walked into his mommas house and saw me and his children and family alive, he was better. Same as now.  

We are so thankful none of our family or homes were gone. However, in a day or two, we will be driving home once again to a place we may not recognize but to our families who are ok. Scared, but ok. Our oldest son is still out working over 36 hrs now, no rest,  exhausted and his own home still with no power. Our power will eventually come back on. But our hearts are hurting for friends who have lost everything and even loved ones. The toll has reached 9 now. 

I don't have alot of pics to share out of respect for families. I'm sorry. 

Things can be replaced, but family can't. We are all ok by God's grace. 

Hug your loved ones tight.