12/11/2023
I wasn’t sure how to write this initially; part of me wanted to downplay, minimize, or be lighthearted and cope with comedic relief. In reality, the past several months have been hefty: post-combat deployment, news of friends facing frequent attacks resulting in injuries, volunteering for soldiers' funerals, and tragically losing 5 Nightstalkers. The rollercoaster of emotions continues with each traumatic event.
In church today, the reality of recent events and months hit me, and everything from my deployment to yesterday’s events played into my mind. We live on the road of one of the hardest hit areas; our home was no further than 100 yards from the tornado's path. From when the first siren sounded to when the tornado barreled down our road, it was a matter of two minutes. I couldn’t turn on the TV before I could hear the tornado coming, yelling at everyone to take cover. It was only a minute, but it was all over. We stepped outside to see destruction only a few houses away.
My friend and I grabbed our shoes, ran house to house, acted as first responders, and helped where possible—yelling into broken windows and kicking down doors, trying to help people get out. As I frantically ran around, I began to hear the yells, screams, and cries. I heard one man yelling the name of a loved one standing in the now-exposed nursery room on his second floor; he couldn’t find her. I attempted to enter through the front door but, due to debris, had to find another way into the home, eventually finding the woman downstairs with her baby taking cover. She barely made it into the garage when it hit.
It wasn’t long before I heard another woman screaming and crying; I ran back out to the road, where she was in complete shock, standing in the foyer of her home. I immediately went to her to console her and attempted to calm her and her daughter to the best of my ability. I just held her as she cried. I looked around to see the back half of her house was completely gone.
At that point, it clicked in my mind: friends from our small group with children were only a few houses away. I ran to them as quickly as possible, praying for the best, climbing and jumping over debris to find them in their bedroom with their toddlers. I hugged them both, gave the boys some encouraging words, and went back out.
At that point, firefighters arrived on the scene but couldn’t pass due to the debris. More people from the neighborhood were out helping despite the downpour and hail. We did quick work coming together to clear the road entirely of all debris, including moving several inoperable vehicles blocking the road.
The adrenaline I felt was unreal; reflecting on it, I realized this was not normal, and I needed to accept it. I don’t need to “man up,” minimize, make comedic relief, or act like I’m okay because the imagery, sounds, and emotion were terrifying. Coupling it with everything I’ve been trying to cope with over the past months. I felt horrible to feel so lucky that our home was minimally damaged, and by luck of maybe 100 yards, we were spared what now dozens of families were facing.
What's crazier is that I wasn’t supposed to deploy this past summer; I left only a week before attacks barraged our replacements. Because I went on that deployment, I couldn’t go on the deployment I was supposed to have left two weeks ago. I wouldn’t have been here for my family, friends, and community. Though our property was debris-filled, our flimsy “Christmas is about Jesus” sign didn’t move. Our neighbor's “Joy” and Christmas nativity didn’t move. It’s hard to see the joy or see God in the toughest of times, but the help of our God is stronger than the pain of the crisis we face. That’s such a tricky thing to say, especially to the face of those who’ve lost everything, lost loved ones. We trust in Him; we seek shelter within Him. Just because there is evil and pain in this world, do not cast away our loving God, who seeks the best for us. The help of our God is stronger than the pain of the crisis we face
”God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude“
â€â€Psalms‬ â€46‬:â€1‬-â€3‬ â€NLT‬‬
City of Clarksville, TN Government
LifePoint Church
Yaipak
