Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Tornado Warning!



It is hard to believe for me, but my daughter is now 24. Actually, her birthday was last week, but she had to work all that day. So we rescheduled our birthday lunch and shopping spree to yesterday. It was her request that we eat at one of her favorites: Sweet Tomatoes. Jim never turns down a chance to eat lunch out, so he accompanied us. It was delightful but not the kind of relaxing "take your time" kind of meal. We had to take turns going to the soup, bread, potato, dessert, salad bars. I don't know if all three of us were ever seated together to actually have a conversation, before one of us would excuse ourselves to go back to the trough. Ha!

As jim returned back to his office, Katie and I headed to Town Center Mall to do some serious shopping. We were in Belk for all of 5 minutes in the shoe salon and K had picked and tried out two  adorable pairs of flats that were on sale. And they actually fit. She has a tiny foot and usually has a hard time getting what she wants.

Next on to Express, then to H & M, where she found some cute tops and skirts. Some of the stores I can't recall the names of, but we visited quite a few places. Then, dodging the people selling weird stuff in kiosks, we wound up back at Express. Couldn't decide on anything so we decided to head back to Belk. As k was going to try on a dress, a loud speaker was announcing some warning. I remembered that my friend Barbara had said that we were getting some bad weather in the afternoon.

We were not allowed to leave the store but were herded into the shoe storeroom to wait out the tornado. Someone who was with us said that she had been on 75; it had been closed down because a tornado had touched down somewhere there. She sought shelter at the mall. There were quite a few of us back there for about 45 minutes. In that time, I called my husband, Jim, my friends Betty and Paula for prayer.

But I really was strangely calm. I wasn't afraid of being crushed next to boxes of Clark's shoes and sandals. Maybe it was the knowledge of so many happenings in the world that point to the end times. So many countries are in conflict, so many uprisings just like Egypt, so many earthquakes and pestilence, and new epidemics. I was reminded of this scripture:
"You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor pains."           Matthew 24: 5-8

No, I am not afraid anymore. God is in control and I trust in His power.

The good news is that we got out safely and ran in pouring down rain to the car. We were never so happy to get so wet! LOL

3 comments:

hootnonny said...

So glad the tornado passed yall by! Happy Birthday to Katie! Always love her portraits!

Gail Dixon said...

What a harrowing experience, but you let your faith in God steady your mind. How awesome! He does promise to bury His word in our heart, and that is what He did in this situation. I'm so thankful to have such a strong Christian as a blogger friend. :)

Charlotte Wilson said...

Thank you both!

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