As we came out of my son’s bedroom closet after we got the all clear from the weather service, I figured most of the action was over. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. While the action was over for us personally, my weather alarm would go off one more time as the storm system that prompted our initial trip to my son’s closet would spin up the tornado that would ultimately hit Wetumpka.
As I looked at the pictures of the devastation, my heart sank. Such beautiful buildings lost. Such history destroyed. But through it all, I took comfort in the fact that no one was killed and the injuries appeared light. This tornado could have been much worse. The people of Wetumpka had plenty of warning and it appears most headed them.
However, due to my heartbreak over the loss of those beautiful, historical churches, I’m ashamed to admit that a part of me wished it would have hit that stupid casino further south. But unlike the churches it demolished on a Saturday afternoon, the casino would have been full of people. The death toll could have been devastating.
Alternatively, if the tornado had gone to the north, it would have taken out the state’s women’s prison. A facility that also would have suffered multiple deaths with a direct hit by what has been ruled a large EF-2 tornado. Despite holding some dangerous killers, those women don’t deserve death in that manner.
This tornado showed us God’s grace. I oppose casinos, but as a Christian I should be reaching out to those who put their faith in gambling. I oppose crime, but as a Christian I should be reaching out to those who have thrown their lives away by breaking the law. However, I can’t save the dead.
So, as weird as it may seem, the tornado hitting those historical churches was the best path for it. It ensured the safety of the people who need those very churches.