In the seasons of tornadoes and hurricanes, we become increasingly aware of the shelter of a roof. The devastation of losing a home in a storm is very real. Those who live in the islands spend years recovering from category five hurricanes. Today, the Nashville area is still assessing their losses after tornadoes earlier this week.Our little community we call home has witnessed several tornadoes over the years, with the most memorable being the series that hit Sunday, November 17, 2013. Most of the Village of Morton was spared, although a few lost homes and the damage was real. We were inconvenienced. Our neighbors a few miles away in Washington, IL were devastated. We saw hundreds of homes destroyed with the roofs lifted on and their houses leveled.
Many had roofs damaged in the 2013 storm. There were so many, it took forever to get the insurance companies to assess. Those without shelter came first... rightfully so. Insurance damage assessors were exhausted. From the home that were leveled or missing walls to the machine sheds that held important farm equipment that needed to be replaced, the work seemed endless.
Insurance companies brought people in from other states to help, but finding hotels for them wasn't easy. Any empty housing that stood became shelter for those without. Communities gathered coats, shoes and other essentials to share. It was a bitter cold November after the storm passed through. The value of solid walls and a roof over our heads was suddenly the thing many were most grateful after the storm and power was restored.
At our house, we were only without power for a few days. We were so grateful for our neighbors, Jim and Susie, who shared their generator to keep our refrigerator going and a few lights. Others were out much longer. Our roof held.
There are times in our lives we deeply feel the value of shelter in a storm. It should be a daily source of gratitude. The Israelite people spent 40 years in the desert with Moses in tents. A tent provided a roof that is shelter from the sun, the wind and the occasional rains. Shelter is always good, but in a storm... it saves lives.
"Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land." -Isaiah 32:2
Sometimes, we need a roof. Other times, we need to reach out and be the shelter another needs in the storms of life. Who needs a little shelter today?
Today, I am grateful for the shelter of a roof.
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