The young pastor, his wife...
Illustration
The young pastor, his wife, daughter and visiting great uncle were startled to hear the tornado warning siren sound off during a beautiful, still afternoon. In the interest of safety, they chose to sit out the storm in the basement of the church next door to the parsonage. As they talked of extended family news, attempting to remain calm through the storm, great and miraculous things were happening both outside and inside. Outside, trees were being pulled up out of the earth like carrots being plucked from a summer garden. Like Matchbox cars on a child's playground, full-size autos were being picked up, spun about and dropped back to earth. Large sections of roofing material were taking flight in the wind like huge birds of prey awkwardly seeking a landing site. Bits and pieces of debris from a variety of tiny disasters were gathered together in one ugly swirling cloud as it sauntered down the town's streets seeking to cause more trouble. Meanwhile, inside, a family was being consoled by each other, their sense of family and togetherness, their faith in the soundness of the church structure and their belief in God as a protector. They knew that that same God would be with them the next day when ordinary, relatively quiet happenings would use up the majority of the day. -- Thompson
