No one will second-guess Alabama being in Tornado Alley ever again...

I wrote my last post while sitting in the windowless, interior hallway during a tornado warning. Thankfully, we had no tornado damage- just a lot of flooding. You should have seen my street. And by "street," I mean, lake.

Yesterday, tornadoes pummeled Alabama. My home, Alabama. The last time I checked the death toll, it was around 170, just in Alabama. Tuscaloosa was all but obliterated from the map. My hometown of Huntsville, along with the rest of the Tennessee Valley (in North Alabama) is without power for the foreseeable future. They're looking, realistically, at a week. One of the main power plants for the area was hit. When I talked to my parents yesterday, they told me that the water processing plants have been imploring residents to conserve water, as well, because they are unable to purify water at a fast enough rate.

When the tornado hit Union three years ago, we discovered a strange emotional phenomenon which we called "tornado guilt." This was experienced primarily by those who were not injured during the storm and who did not lose much (or anything). They felt horribly guilty that they didn't suffer with the rest of us. There was no reason for that; none of us who went through the actual tornado or lost things would have wanted it to happen to anyone else.

Weirdly enough, even though I already went through my own tornado, I felt tornado guilt yesterday. I felt like I should have been there to go through it with my parents. Why? Who knows...it's not a rational feeling at all. My parents were really glad that Sister and I were in Jackson. Mom and Dad have an AWESOME storm shelter, so they were completely safe throughout the whole ordeal. Nonetheless, I still felt like I should have been there.

Union students are taking donations for students in Alabama, particularly at the University of Alabama. I felt like I'd come full-circle as I went through my clothes and rounded up things to send to my home state; this is exactly what people did for us just a few short years ago. I guess it's a tangible way to a) help and b) deal with Tornado Guilt.

I'm so thankful to the Lord for His protection for not only my parents but also my friends and all of my extended family (that's right, we're ALL Alabamians). He's so good.