I am resurrecting this post that first ran in June 2011. As we watch the devastation in Moore, it reminds us too much of what happened in Joplin. Let’s remember the best place to turn in storms!

Today a truck loaded with diapers, food, baby food, toiletries, and kids clothing is headed to Joplin, Missouri. The picture doesn’t begin to convey how many boxes are layered in there. I really didn’t think it would all fit…but it did!

Yesterday a pastor at the church we are working with spoke at our church. He and his wife shared stories that would break your heart — yet gave such hope at the same time. God is on the move.

In storms like this, I think we see who we really are. How strong we really are. What our core values are. What we are fundamentally made of at the core of our existence.

Some people experience a massive tornado — possibly the most destructive in United States history. But for most of us, the storms are other things. In the last few days a friend had a husband tell her he never loved her and their life together has been a lie. F-5 on the scale of storms. Another friend learned that her cancer returned, this time in her bones. Another F-5 shock. Yet another friend went in for an ultrasound and learned her baby had no heartbeat. An F-5. Another friend learned that she was being asked not to continue on a public project. A F-5.

I’m sure you’ve had something similar happen. So what do we do?

Do we lean into Jesus and His promises? Or do we rail against Him and shake our fists at heaven? Do we sink into His loving embrace like my six-month-old curls into mine? Or do we go rigid and turn away?

Praying that whatever the storm in your life, that Jesus would be bigger, present, and still it.