The blessings of God in serving Him!

Posted on May 23, 2014 in Blog

Allen, Joplin tornado survivor

Allen, Joplin tornado survivor

Matthew 6:33 says that we should seek the Lord first and HIS Kingdom and all the things we need will be supplied to us- as we need them. Today, Terry and I woke with a DEEP HUNGER for God HIMSELF- nothing else would do- so we wiped our calendar clean and in the midst of early phase two recovery here in Oklahoma, we put the “do not disturb” sign on the door of our hotel room and sought the Lord with our WHOLE hearts! We cried out to Him for MORE of HIM and sensed both His Presence and His Pleasure as we did. With meetings re-scheduled for this evening and knowing that our day was HIS, we fed on Him and His Word…..WE ARE BLESSED!

Later this evening, we decided to have an early dinner before our meetings and Terry picked The Stonehill Grill, here in Miami. After we had ordered our dinner, the hostess who sat us came by to ask about our reason for being in town. When she learned a little about Somebody Cares, she shared her personal tornado story. It seems around here, most people have one to tell. She was from a neighboring community- Picher, OK. In 2008, an F-4 leveled much of the town and several of her friends were among the six who perished. She reminded us that 3 years ago today, the massive tornado that struck Joplin had hit. With that, she excused herself. Suddenly, the manager, Allen, came by and asked if he could sit down at our table for a minute. He looked at the Somebody Cares logos on our shirts and said- ‘I remember you from Joplin….I am a survivor!” Then he proceeded to thank us for all we do and told us his story. He and his entire family were at home the night the storm hit. Though it was heavily damaged, his home was the ONLY one in his neighborhood still standing afterwards and he and his family all walked out without a scratch! They are a blessed family!

Allen said he remembered the tent being set up near where he worked at the time and said he was so blessed to see all those that pulled together to help everyone. He also said something that we have heard before- something that Doug Stringer has spoken of often- that is that often when tragedy comes our way, IF we will hold on to the Lord and His promises, He turns our tragedy into TRIUMPH and OFTEN things end up better than they were before. As Allen said tonight – “More good than bad happened out of that storm!”

Tomorrow we meet with Pastor Steve and Gena Fellers- also overcomers in the Kingdom- to see how Somebody Cares can help those in their community of Baxter Springs. Stay tuned!