Thank You from OKC/Moore

Tonight is the first night I'm sleeping in our bed since Monday's horrible tornado.  We are fortunate. We are grateful. We are blessed.

 

As most of you may know, Brandon and I live where Oklahoma City meets Moore... where that terribly scary monster of a storm took out everything it touched. Kids in our neighborhood walk to Briarwood Elementary... Correction: walked.



Photo by Charles Redman - USA Today Sports

The houses in the picture above are in our neighborhood. Brandon and I spend as many sunny Saturdays as possible playing catch on this field or jogging the track. This chaos hit way too close to home for comfort but we are fortunate. We are grateful. We are blessed.

 

Thankfully, we were both at work when it hit. Thankfully, we left our little Rylee at my parents' house this weekend so she wasn't at home like usual. Thankfully, the south end of our neighborhood was spared. We are fortunate. We are grateful. We are blessed.

 

The north end of our neighborhood, on the other hand, has suffered severe damage. Many homes have been destroyed, wiped out or damaged beyond repair. We have done what we can to help - we've passed out every trash bag we can find, every pair of gloves - from gardening gloves to the pair I keep under our kitchen sink, all the snacks in our pantry and every bottle of water in our fridge. To be completely honest, my type A personality is going crazy. I need to get busy, I need to help, I need to do something... but what I realized really quickly was that these people are all in shock. Just now, two days later are they really starting to move, to take action. Before they were just standing in their yards staring in disbelief, letting it all sink in.

 

I asked one man who was literally in the street surveying what was left of his yard if there was anything I could help him with or get for him. He turned around and smiled at me, his eyes almost glazed over. I offered up all the stuff I'd thrown into the front seat of my car - snack? drink? trash bag? something else I don't have but could go get? He thanked me, but told me he was fine. "My grill is still in the backyard and I'm going to roll it around here and see if I can brew myself a cup of coffee on it," he said with a smile. I could see his backyard from his front yard, there was no house in the middle. No kitchen with mugs in the cabinet or coffee on the counter. It was wishful thinking at best. I told him I was sorry, I would have been happy to go make him coffee, but we didn't have any electricity and if I left the neighborhood to go get some it would take me literally hours to get back with all the traffic and chaos. He told me not to worry - the whole time still somehow smiling. I told him I was sorry about his house and that we would be praying for his family. As I started to pull away, he began to turn back around and then quickly spun back and said, "Hey, wait! God bless you." I couldn't hold back the tears any longer... God bless me? I've been blessed. My family was safe, our house was fine and this guys was asking God to bless me?! I continued down the street asking people if there was a need I could meet for them, but I knew that trash bags and gloves would only get them so far so I prayed non-stop. After each person I encountered I sat in my car and prayed. My type A couldn't do too much, but my God sure can.

 

Tonight as I sit here in my air conditioned house, on my comfortable bed, in my favorite pajamas watching the news, I am overwhelmed with emotion. I can't tell you how many people sent us text messages, tried to call, shot us a facebook message... Friends we haven't seen in years, people multiple states away, our family who we know were worried sick. My mom said she didn't get a thing done all day because her phone was ringing off the hook with people calling to see if we were okay. Even today I was talking to her on the phone when someone stopped her and asked about us.

 

Thank you.

 

Thank you for checking on us. Thank you for opening your homes to us. Thank you for offering to bring us dinner. Thank you for the messages that said, "We can be in our cars headed your way in ten minutes, just say the word." Thank you, thank you, thank you. You truly can't comprehend what that means to us.

 

We are overwhelmed. We are appreciative. We are humbled. We are fortunate. We are grateful. We are so, so very blessed. With that being said, there are so many that are suffering. Please send your money, your supplies, your muscle... but most importantly, please, please, please pray. Pray that the weather holds off so that people can salvage as much as they can. Pray that the first responders, police, firemen and companies working frantically to restore the electricity are safe. Pray that the city officials and our governor are able to make the best decisions for our community. Pray for those families that lost their homes, or worse, the families who lost loved ones that God would give them a peace that passes all understanding.

 

Again, thank you. I can't say it enough. We are blessed.

 

Raegan