April 27th…A Year Later

Posted on by Kandy

So many things have been written about that day. So many feelings, still so much confusion, such pain.

No words can express everything that happened that day, or in the twelve months since.

Strange for me, as I am now so far removed from the place that was once my home. It was there that I trembled down in the belly of that house on that day, listening to deathly silence, then boughs creaking, swaying and breaking in the wind, then to debris tumble from the sky. It was in that place that I began to frantically call friends and family, then hear the stories, see the pictures, and walk through the streets of destruction. It was there that I drove by acres of flattened oaks and pines that had once towered, reaching to the heavens. It was there that entire neighborhoods and shopping centers lay in great piles of rubble, blue tarps covered roofs for months, and landscapes promised to never look the same again. It was there that I again learned that weather can not be trusted to favor even the good guys, and that we are indeed fragile in the face of the storm. 
But I’m no longer there. I’m a thousand miles away, in a little town full of people who barely even knew about these devastating storms, and certainly don’t remember them a year later. While these images still remain fresh in my mind, I know that my home state is recovering, and that those catastrophic wounds are slowly healing. I know that for my friends who lost so much, a simple thunderstorm will always elicit a stronger than normal response. I understand. It does the same to me. I just continue to cling to the fact that my God is sovereign, and we’ll understand it all one day. I love and miss everyone back home on this day, as you all spend time remembering your loved ones and the way life once was before April 27th.  
Please listen to this Josh Garrels song called “Farther Along”. The lyrics are incredible.
Farther Along 

Farther along we’ll know all about it 
Farther along we’ll understand why 
Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine 
We’ll understand this, all by and by 

Tempted and tried, I wondered why 
The good man died, the bad man thrives 
And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both 
We’re all cast-aways in need of ropes 
Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope 
In a house of mirrors full of smoke 
Confusing illusions I’ve seen 

Where did I go wrong, I sang along 
To every chorus of the song 
That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates 
Leading mice and men down to their fates 
But some will courageously escape 
The seductive voice with a heart of faith 
While walkin’ that line back home 

So much more to life than we’ve been told 
It’s full of beauty that will unfold 
And shine like you struck gold my wayward son 
That deadweight burden weighs a ton 
Go down into the river and let it run 
And wash away all the things you’ve done 
Forgiveness alright 

Chorus 

Still I get hard pressed on every side 
Between the rock and a compromise 
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul 
And I’ve got no place left go 
Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown 


Also, if you get a chance, listen to this one called “Beyond the Blue”


Beyond the Blue

Stand on the shores of a site unseen
The substance of this dwells in me
Cause my natural eyes only go skin deep
But the eye’s of my heart anchor the sea
Plumbing the depths to the place in between
The tangible world and the land of a dreams
Because everything ain’t quite it seems
There’s more beneath the appearance of things
A beggar could be king within the shadows,
Of a wing

And wisdom will honor everyone who will learn
To listen, to love, and to pray and discern
And to do the right thing even when it burns
And to live in the light through treacherous turns
A man is weak, but the spirit yearns
To keep on course from the bow to the stearn
And throw overboard every selfish concern
That tries to work for what can’t be earned
Sometimes the only way to return is to go,
Where the winds will take you

And to let go, of all, you cannot hold onto
For the hope, beyond,the blue

Yellow and gold as the new day dawns
Like a virgin unveiled who waited so long
To dance and rejoice and sing her song
And rest in the arms of a love so strong
No one comes unless they’re drawn
By the voice of desire that leads em’ along
To the redemption of what went wrong
By the blood that coveres the innocent one
No more separation
Between us.

So lift your voice just one more time
If there’s any hope may it be a sign
That everything was made to shine
Despite what you can see
So take this bread and drink this wine
And hide your spirit within the vine
Where all things will work by a good design
For those who will believe

And let go, of all, we cannot hold onto
For the hope, beyond, the blue

Said I let go, of all, I could not hold onto
For the hope, I have, in you

credits




The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(AG)”>every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul “therefore I will hope in him.”   Lamentations 3:22-24


One thought on “April 27th…A Year Later”

  1. You may not be here Kandy but those feelings are still with you in TX I know. What we all experienced is not something you just “get over”…you learn to move forward, grow and learn from that experience. I blogged about our tornado and our experience on my blog today too. I think that is part of the healing….to talk, to write and to share. Thank you for such a beautiful post today and for sharing 2 amazing songs as well. Praying for you & your family and all the TET families. Hoping to see you all in a few months.

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