One Year Later

When I was driving to the church this morning, the sky had an eerie yellow cast.  Not something any of the survivors of last year's tornado in Piedmont would take comfort from.    Luckily, the skies are looking a little more cheerful as the day progresses.

Garrett Rempe of Piedmont First United Methodist Church
helping with debris removal.

I met with the Central Oklahoma Recovery Effort (CORE) at 10 am as we continue to try to help with the final cases in our communities.  We've done some good work but sometimes it seems to move frustratingly slow.  I chastise myself when I realize that my frustration is only a small fraction of what the affected families are feeling. 

My thoughts dealing with the theology of this event have been published by the new Piedmont Daily website (which I will be contributing to on a monthly basis).

As families continue to recover and put their lives back together, they enter what we call a new normal.  Nothing ever goes back to the way it was and that is to be expected.  When large events happen, we are changed.  My hope as a pastor is that the majority of the families will be able to change for the better - that they will be stronger and more confident.  

They will know that they can get through tough times and they will hopefully realize that God worked in their lives to help them along the way.  

As you read this please say a prayer for the Oklahoma families whose lives were altered last year - and a prayer for bluer skies wouldn't hurt either!