Sunday was the sad, One-Year Anniversary of the tornado that blustered its way through Sullivan, Indiana. I don’t know when I noticed it but at least not quicker than 6 months ago I saw a piece of debris on my way home from Highway 41 going East towards Dugger. There are trees that still look like they are statues from that day.
Sometime last week in the lead up to the Community 6:00 pm Time of Remembrance. I watched a news report on an interview WTHI did with a victim. She and her husband both got the emergency messages on their phones. When they got them they looked outside and were literally facing the beast heading straight for them. The whole thing took 11 seconds she said and she remembered being in the eye of the tornado. Afterwards it is a bit more hazy for her to remember. The photos of how she looked when she found under all the debris of her house it was amazing she survived at all.
Nearly 16 or perhaps 17 hours later she woke up in a hospital bed. Where she found out her husband was not as fortunate. He didn’t survive the tornado. Due to her extensive injuries it took her months to recover. Now, a year later she is just grateful to be alive and knows she could still be much worse off. She has quite a story to tell and wanted joy to be what people remember about her going forward.
Some of my family lives in Sullivan and I have been told that those without insurance were able to rebuild quicker than those who didn’t have it. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Those tornadoes there were two touchdowns, creating such havoc and destruction. Only God can allow these hearts to heal and mend meaningful losses.
Jewells of Thought 
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