My heart is broken for families across Oklahoma. Most of you have likely heard about the devastating tornadoes that ground across our state over the last few days. Tornadoes are nothing new to Oklahoma, but this week was different. The magnitude of the tornado that hit Moore, OK was enormous. It was slow-moving and powerful. It left everything it touched in rubble and took the lives of many in its path. This included the lives of precious babies at a Oklahoma Elementary School.
As a state, we are heart-broken. The images of people trapped under piles of debris, of people walking aimlessly without belongings – looking for help, of the dazed, confused, injured – all plague our hearts. We have seen these images before. We are not new to devastation. In April of 1995, a terrorist drove a truck full of explosive chemicals into downtown Oklahoma City and parked it in front of the Federal Building. At 9:02 AM, on April 19, 1995, 168 Oklahomans lost their lives and 684 were injured when the truck exploded. The lives lost that day included sweet babies at daycare on the first floor of the building. As a state we have experienced tragedy. What we learned in 1995, was just how strong we are. This event, although tragic, united us. We became united in a way that others could only try to understand.
On May 3rd, 1999, a tornado similar in severity to this weeks storm, also ground across Moore. As a state, we responded and we rebuilt. Families rebuilt homes and we began the process of healing. This had not just happened to Moore, it happened to our state. Again, we became united.
With devastation and tragedy on our doorstep again, I am certain that Oklahomans will continue to respond as we always do. With love. Just hours after tornadoes ripped across the state, cars were flooding to local TV stations and donation sites with supplies for the needy. People waited in line for hours just to give. Shelters were established and hearts and homes were opened to those who had lost loved ones and belongings.
So, while our hearts cannot forget the images of devastation, we are met now with images of children giving their teddy bears, of people giving the clothes off of their own backs and of volunteers walking for miles into the destruction zone to help in any way that they could.
I am so blessed by the hearts of the people in this Great State. I know that the Spirit of God is at work as communities come together to help, as people open their hearts to the hurting and as the selflessness of Oklahomans is shown to the world. I ask that you would continue to pray for Oklahoma. Pray that the Lord would continue to bring healing to those who are hurting and bring peace to those who have been through trauma. We can rebuild our state, but only He can put the broken pieces of our hearts back together. With love.
