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| April 5, 2010 | ||||||
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Blessings in
Disguise I was on Facebook today and saw pictures posted by a friend of ours. These photos were taken of the tornado that passed through Marmaduke, AR, (a town just 10 miles north of our house) and the damage it left behind four years ago today. I remember that day vividly, even though Sonny, the boys and I were in Illinois at the time. We called home to check on my family and received a call from a friend to let us know about the damage. As we got online to look at pictures, we were amazed at all the damage that we saw. It seemed like the whole town had been completely torn apart. We really didn't know what to say except, "Wow!" and "Oh my!" It was just too much! Now that four years have come and gone, it's inspiring to hear the comments of those who lost their homes in that tornado. They don't look at it as a complete disaster that took their lives away. They look at it as a blessing in disguise. They've had time to reflect on the whole event and praise God for sparing their lives and the lives of their family and friends. They look at it as a new beginning, an opportunity to use their new home to bless others, and a time to grow. They've taken the time to deepen their friendships and, as they have worked to rebuild their community, their community has become stronger. This tragedy has helped them realize that stuff is just that - STUFF! It took a tragedy for many of them to realize that the important things are relationships. Our relationships with God, family, friends, and community are what really matter. Dedicating our time, money and talents on building these relationships is worth everything! To these families, the tornado of April 2006 was a huge obstacle that they had to overcome, but they soon realized that with God on their side, this tragedy had become a huge opportunity. What will it take for the rest of us? Will it take a tornado, an illness, or some other disaster to help us see the opportunities that God provides for us every day? Will we take the time to see what's really important now or will we wait until we lose all our "STUFF"?!
May we all take
the time to focus on God and learn
from others the truth about this
life before we have to learn it the
hard way. I pray that God will bless
each of you with the wisdom to work
on what's really important! |
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Sonny
Childs P.O. Box 131 Paragould, AR 72451 |
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