seven weeks ago today...

After a long and scary night filled with heavy winds, strange noises, and no power, many people awoke to scenes like this:

Many people lost their homes, their possessions, and some even lost their lives.  The record breaking tornado storm that ripped through the southern states showed very little mercy to those who stood in it's path. 

The storm that passed through our area came under cover of darkness.  That made it all the more scary.  No one really knew what had happened until the morning came.  Our family was very blessed.  The tornado passed just barely a mile from us.  It passed less than a mile from my brother's house.  My dad was at work at the time, the storm broke the doors and sucked all of the ceiling tiles through the gaping holes.  They thought that the roof was going to be ripped off as well, but it managed to to hang on as the storm passed over.  Thankfully, no one there was hurt.

No one seemed to know where this tree came from.

This one made me cry...

 Governor Haslam was flown in by the National Guard.  They landed by one of the ramps off the bypass.

 He gave a press conference.  The police wouldn't let me get any closer, but I heard that he declared our county a disaster area.

    What was left of the gas station just down the road from our house.  Today it is just a slab of concrete.

 All of the refrigerators in Walmart were empty.  Most of the county was out of power for about 4 days.  Some people went about and week and a half.  My family turned it into an opportunity to learn how to cook over a turkey fryer.

Roads like this became a common sight.

      Everywhere there were trees that had been snapped in two with no signs of the top half anywhere.

These last few pictures are from just across the Tennessee/Georgia state line.



Please continue to keep the tornado victims in your prayers.  Many people in our area are still living in tents as they try to get their homes back in living condition.  With the heat and humidity being what it is at this time of year it can be dangerous to be directly exposed to it all day long. 

All of the area churches have been a huge help in getting the community back on it's feet.  Flocks of volunteers armed with chainsaws, food, and loving hearts have been reaching out to the storm victims ever since day one.  The way a community pulls together in the wake of disaster is such o wonderful thing to see.  Neighbors who never really visited one another are now working together and complete strangers become dear friends. 

Even though it has been 7 weeks since the storm, for many people, it seems like just last week.  Where there were once homes there are now bare lots swept clean.  Ditches are still littered with debris, there are still huge holes where there were once beautiful trees, and lovely woods have been replaced by ghostly looking sticks poking up towards the sky.  It will take many months to repair what was lost in the storm and longer still for the victims to forget that horrible night that claimed so many homes and lives.