Posted on 05/27/2011 11:56:44 PM PDT by pillut48
Will Norton was the young man who had just graduated from high school when the Joplin tornado hit. He was pulled through the sunroof of his SUV while his dad tried in vain to hold onto him. A massive search for him has been underway since last Sunday. His family is reporting tonight on Facebook that sadly his body was found today. :*(
My wife was asking the very same question, and my son of all people, said the following, "Just think of all the people who otherwise would not be exposed, or open to hearing about the gospel through all this, how many people are being brought together through this tragedy, and are benefiting from the outpouring of real Christian charity and love."
At the age of 18, and a new comer to the faith, he constantly struggles to make sense of it. So, coming from him it was kind of a surprise. Still what he said was true. God works in mysterious ways, and sometime the best we, as sinner saved only by the grace of God, can do is look at any given situation and try to figure out what aspect of God is being revealed to us and how we can use it to glorify Him.
“Is there a reason God is doing this?”
No “god” had anything to do with it.
I don't know but the town I work in was hit extremely hard. The death toll was low (9) considering that six tornadoes hit the area and there were 285 homes destroyed but one thing that did happen was that the community really came together. The city was starting to grow too much and people were losing touch with each other even though as cities go it was still a great place. After the storms we saw people come from all over to help. Red Cross was inundated with volunteers. It was amazing! Businesses shut down and sent their employees to help. They also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars of supplies. There was virtually no looting. The whole disaster seemed to unite people. I'm very proud of this city and all the neighboring counties that helped.
Sometimes these disasters humble us when we start getting to big for our britches and let us know we are not in charge. :-)
Another question was asked about how could somebody be sucked out of a sun roof. One of the homes we went to when we took supplies was a lady that fostered dogs and cats for the animal shelter. Her home wasn't completely destroyed but she was fostering several cats indoors. When a section of the roof was blown off all of her cats were sucked out through the hole and killed. The force a tornado has is indescribable if you have never been in one.
beautifully expressed
Will’s story touched a lot of people. I have been following his Aunt Tracie’s story on Facebook. So many people searching for him and praying for him. Reading the posts this morning, it is clear to see many were affected by his story and were reminded how quickly a loved one can be taken away from us. God bless Will’s family and those who loved him. So sad.
Very well said.
Then, why do some people committ suicide after tragedies?
Thoughts? And some people just go plain crazy
When you live in Tornado Alley, there are going to be tornadoes.
Just as those living in New Orlean under sea level can expect a flood .
I suppose if you want to stretch things you can say God did it, but mother nature is what cause’s tornadoes. This one was exceptionally deadly.
Earlier atheists have used mass natural disasters to argue atheism ("how could God cause / allow this suffering"); you have sunk even from that, to think that nobody before your day ever suffered: you might want to (say) Google "Voltaire Lisbon Earthquake" and note the number of deaths.
Let me guess, you're a college graduate (oooh!), here to enlighten us with your wisdom, direct from your enlightened professors, through the sieve you call a mind, and right into our laps. (Lucky us, to be so blessed by your wisdom!)
And if you believe in patterns in certain areas, that have reoccurring tornado's or hurricanes that the prudent thing would be to build storm cellars, or dome buildings so the wind blows around you instead of destroying everything you own ?
Most homes in the Midwest HAVE basements. Many in so-called "Tornado Alley" also have storm cellars, depending on the soil and the water table.
But you might have noticed, a storm cellar cannot hold an SUV, which was the issue in the original posting.
Let me guess, you live in Berkeley or Sacramento.
(Your FReeper homepage has no flag. Perhaps it's just as well.)
Click here.
Cheers!
“Why do some people commit suicide after tragedies?”
I have NEVER liked the phrase, “What doesn’t kill us, only makes us stronger”. Why? I don’t think it is accurate. I believe that some traumas damage a person beyond repair. Perhaps, a person doesn’t have any type of warm, loving family or maybe they get into a “funk” and see no more joy possible. Maybe the cloud of despair is so thick and black that their mind turns on them. Perhaps they don’t have a strong faith and can’t acquire one quickly after a tragedy. Either way, they are sad and need our prayers.
A three month old baby was pulled out of it's mothers arms in the same tornado, and has yet to be found. There is an expression: “Unknowable to Men is the Peace of God”.
We are looking at not just a micro but a micro of a micro of the Scale God created. Consider the evil and infamy that God has seen and will see thru his creation, Time. He has heard every lie, seen every betrayal, seen every crime, every rape, every slaughter, every selfish grasp, every vicious thrust. He knows how it all ends and whether the reward is worth the pain. He Knows!
***build storm cellars, or dome buildings so the wind blows around you***
One would think that insurance companies, engineers and architects could have designed structures to withstand or reduce wind damage. Considering the lives, jobs and property losses in the $trillions over several decades it makes sense. Dome-roof homes and even one-story buildings that can descend into the ground. Earthquake retrofit technology.
He's a witch, get him!
I grew up in Tornado Alley. I remember years when there were hardly any tornadoes and years when there were big clusters of tornadoes. I can remember sitting in the shelter and listening to the radio describe more than a dozen twisters overhead. My Dad and I took shelter with a farmer and his family while traveling to a distant church once - the funnel cloud we were watching as we traveled, turned and we had to find shelter in just minutes. I firmly believe that this weather comes in cycles and we are experiencing an “up” cycle right now.
I also remember who people helped each other. No one expected FEMA. The churches had relief efforts and people in surrounding areas helped.
You are correct - unless you’ve seen the force of a tornado in person you really have no idea what nature can do.
On Nightline last week, they interviewed a stunned man outside the wreckage of his home, cuts all over his face. He was lying on the floor of his home next to his wife as the tornado passed by. She was snatched away, no trace of her found at that time. 150 still missing. Can’t imagine what they’re going through.
What do you think God is doing? Nature is taking its course. He set the seasons in motions millions of years ago and it is following its natural, yearly cycle.
An incredibly sad & tragic story. I feel for the family, especially the Father who will no doubt relive that terrible moment for the rest of his life. I think the worst thing that can happen to someone is to lose a child.
We should all remember that the world is simultaneously a beautiful and terrible place. For every wonderful thing we experience, there are terrors that are out there. Luckily, we live in a country where the good things generally dwarf the bad ones. In the end, its all part of G-d’s grand design. We can’t pretend to understand it or even like it, it just is. We just have to trust that its all for the greater, eventual good.
Matthew 5:45(b) NIV He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.
Cleveland TN, the town I work in and where most of my family lives, was hit in 1974 and I was involved in that one. This one was even worse. I live 18 miles N. of Cleveland now but still work there. The day all the storms hit, we spent most of the day sitting against the wall. When we left at 4:00 they were really bad and a funnel cloud chased me all the way up I-75. I was running 80mph until the hail started and I had to slow down but it caught me a mile from my exit so I took shelter under the bridge. Scary stuff!
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