A few months ago, my wife Ann, my daughter and I were invited to go with our neighbors and their daughter, for a weekend away at the Maumee Bay Lodge and State Park near Toledo, Ohio right on Lake Erie. The place was absolutely beautiful and I would highly recommend it for a family.
Saturday ended up becoming a very full and tiring day as we spent 5 hours at the Toledo Zoo (an amazing zoo by the way...I think I liked it even better than the San Diego Zoo). After dinner, we enjoyed taking the girls swimming and on our way out we stopped by to treat ourselves to ice cream. My daughter loves Super Man Ice Cream and ate as much as her little tummy could handle. The girls were pretty exhausted so it was time to take them back to the cabin that we had rented together and put them to bed. Caitlin was so tired that she fell asleep as I was praying with her. After the girls were in bed the adults decided to go sit on the porch and play a card game to relax and unwind.
Around 10:30 we heard the emergency siren go off, so we quickly turned on the news only to discover that we were under a Tornado Warning. In fact there were reports of houses being destroyed and some fatalities. We didn't have a basement in the cabin, so the instructions said that we were simply to climb under the cabin. That
wasn't happening with a 7 month pregnant wife, so we quickly headed for the Lodge (which was like a large hotel). When I get to the front desk, we asked where are we are supposed to go for a Tornado Warning. To my surprise, the clerk very non-chalantly said, "Well if there is a Tornado Warning we'll let you know." To which I said, "Didn't you hear the sirens aren't you watching the news?" She soon discovered that there was indeed a storm warning but then said, if the Tornado touches down within 50 miles then we will evacuate the people to the center hallway in the lodge. We'll keep you posted. I then went and sat in the lobby for a few minutes and watched the television news. It appeared that a big Tornado had touched down nearby and the storm was indeed coming towards us, but then I thought, I'm not from here, what do I know. Then flashes from the movie Titanic went through my head and the thought came to my mind..."Never entrust your life to those whose priority of business is dependent on
your comfort." I scooped up my daughter (who is so exhausted she's sleeping through this whole ordeal) and I told my wife, "Come on let's go to the center hallway" and we went there with our neighbors not far behind us. Not long after another lady decides to come and sit in the hallway as well. Several minutes pass and the lights start to flicker and the fire doors automatically shut briskly in the hallway. Now with a great sense of urgency I see see the staff from the lodge running from door to door, knocking and yelling, "Tornado Warning" and within a matter minutes they begin trying to pack a few hundred people into this hallway. We even watched as a bride still in her wedding gown accompanied by her new husband struggled to step around people down the center of the hallway as she received a thunderous applause and hooting and hollering from many of the amused evacuees in the hallway. Meanwhile I'm praying and holding my daughter (who's still sleeping through all of this) and the lights go out for what seems like an eternity. It was pitch black and so I huddled over my daughter drawing her closer for protection and continued to pray under my breath. Within a few moments the lights came on and the Tornado Warning ended. It was all over...or so we thought.
The local news began to report that we could expect a bigger storm front around 3am. Despite her fatigue my wife, was unable to sleep so she sat by the Television. On the other hand I took a Benadryl to deal with my allergies and quickly joined my daughter in her hibernation-like state. Around 2:30 am the storm was about to come over us, and the Meteroligist said, it appears that it's just going to be Severe Thunderstorms but would have winds up to 90 miles per hour. Just as Ann was about to turn off the television the Meterologist says, "Wait we just spotted rotation, and the storm is gaining speed moving along at 60 miles per hour. If you're in Lucas County, take cover immediately. You don't have much time. If a tornado is developing, it could be right on top of you now." Somehow I woke up from my deep slumber and heard this on the television and just as Ann came to wake me up, I scooped up Caitlin for round two. Ann quickly ran to tell our friends that we need to go as I headed out the door. I was immediately met with a significant gust of wind and my face began to sting from the pelting rain. We jumped into the car once again to head for the lodge. Struggling to see out the windshield as my wipers struggled to keep up with the pace of the rain hitting the window I raced to the lodge. I quickly pulled the car in front of the lodge, carelessly parking it in the unloading zone and walked briskly past the front desk clerk who observes us heading towards the center hallway. We heard from the television in hotel lobby that a tornado was sited not far from us, but then dissappeared, or at least they lost track of it. Moments later our friends arrive and we again huddled in the hallway - only this time we are all alone. I'm praying as this seems all the more real and disturbing. We could hear the wind roaring outside and the rain stomping on the top of the roof. Praying and feeling helpless, wanting to protect my family but unable to do anything else, I suddenly had a sense that we were in the Hands of Our Heavenly Father and He is in control.
When I returned home I received a Facebook Message from Karleen one of the College Graduates who is a part of Epic. She had sent this to me shortly before I left for our trip but I didn't see it until I returned. It said:
"Jeremy and Ann,
You've been on my heart a lot over the past week and I just wanted to write and let you know I've been praying for you both!
Psalm 91:1-4
"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust Him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection..." Apparently it wasn't our time to go and be with Jesus...yet.
The next day we discovered that the Tornadoes had touched down in several places and wreaked severe damage. The early reports said that it was an EF3 Tornado with around 190 MPH winds and it had wrecked over 50 homes in a nearby town. Additionally there were reported wide spread wind gusts that had reached up to 90mph. A local high school (about 12 miles away) had been utterly destroyed 12 hours prior to their graduation ceremony. Several had been injured, 5 were confirmed dead and there was over 100 million dollars of damage that had been done.
I later read that among the 5 that had been killed in the Tornadoes, a little four year old and his mother (the same age as my daughter) were going into the police station, seeking cover and they were sucked up by the Tornado before they could get into the station.
As we drove by the high school, my heart ached for the families that are left to pick up the pieces. I later learned that the father of the valedictorian of the 2010 class at Lake High School was also killed in the storm. It's more than a news report somewhere in the world. It's real people, in a real community, trying to pick up the pieces from the devastation - physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I'm reminded that even without the literal storms, wind gusts and tornadoes there are real people all around us who are just trying to hang on, trying to seek shelter, in hope of a rescue. I'd invite you to join with me in praying for the families in Ohio who have been devastated by this storm. And I would invite you to pray and be the beacon of hope for those in "our backyards" who are also desperately searching for something more.
