Tornado warning

I am afraid.  There are tornado sirens going off--the wind is howling, the trees are bending and there is loud thunder.  My poor dog is whining and moaning.  We are in a corner of our basement.  Lanterns ready, listening to the thunder and the wind.  I am still able to type on my computer, I even have an internet connection--so far. I think the harder the wind blows the faster I type.

I have lived in the Midwest for 11 years now and this is the first time that I've ever heard the sirens.  My heart is beating fast.  I am nervous.  I need to calm down.  However, the new sounds outside are foreign to me.  I don't like them.  It sounds similar to a freight train.  Scary.  I am worried about my neighbors.  Are they in their basements?  Do all of them have basements?  I'm not sure.  I should have asked them and told them to come to our house if the sirens ever go off.  Deep breaths.

Fear--alarm, panic, frustration, uneasiness.  Just a few of the dictionaries definitions of the word fear.  I don't like the feeling.  I try hard not to be fearful.  I try hard to believe that God will protect me.  He'll keep me safe.  I have to trust and sometimes that is hard.  And yet, as each minute passes and I see that I am safe, it becomes easier to trust Him.

Hopefully, before too long the winds will die down and once again we'll be able to go upstairs and carry on with our evening routine.  The sounds, the fear, the emotions of the moment will pass.  And I want to know--what did I learn from the experience?   


It seems to be over now.  It's raining a hard steady beating rain.  The thunder is still loud.  But, the sirens have stopped.  Everything is going to be OK, we're back upstairs, watching the weather reports.  O'Hare airport has been shut down, they've herded people into the tunnels.  Trees are down.  Power is out to over 260,000 Chicago residents.  We still have ours though.  Things seem normal here.  Things are becoming calmer by the minute.  I'm glad this is over.  It was exciting though and scary at the same time.

I think I liked it.