A Day of Remembrance

It's hard to believe that a year ago today, tornadoes ripped through the state and took the lives of 250+ people and damaged thousands of homes and businesses. I remember the day like it was yesterday. April 27th will be one of those days like 9/11 that we will never forget. It took me 3 hours to get to work that morning because a tornado had ripped across one of the main highways in the city going toward downtown. Power poles were down and the road was closed. That was a smaller tornado, but it did so much damage to hundreds of houses and many businesses.  The rest of the day everyone was on pins and needles for what was expected and what we would later see on live TV. It was so tragic and sureal. A tornado around a mile wide would track across the center of our state. The town of my college alma mater was hit hard and it will never look the same.

After that day our state came together as one to help find loved ones, begin the cleanup or just lend a shoulder to cry on. Celebrities from all over would even show up to cleanup and Red Cross sites to lend a hand. Benefit concerts took place. Even this day, one year later, Bo Jackson, Lance Armstrong and others are biking across the state to raise needed funds to continue the clean-up and rebuilding process.

Kevin and I attended one of  the many benefit concerts Bama Rising that Brad Paisley and Alabama put on along with several other country artists. It was awesome to see the kind of support and love our state was shown during that tragic time.

Events like these make you realize how precious this life is. I pray that many lives were changed for the better after that sad and tragic day. A song that was played with many of the vidoes showing the damage was "Praise You in This Storm" by Casting Crowns. Everytime I hear that song I am reminded of that day and how even in the hard times we are to praise Him. God is the one who will get us through the many "storms" in our lives.

On a happier note HAPPY FRIDAY and I hope everyone has a great weekend!