Because Timing is Everything

I never thought I'd see the day that our nerdiness might help save our lives. I know that sounds flippant, but I believe it to be true. I know that God works in mysterious ways, and I know that sounds very cliched, but by choosing to go to a museum in St. Louis that we had decided we weren't going to spend the time to see on this trip, we avoided the very real possibility of being in Joplin at 6 pm when its citizens' lives were changed forever by a massive tornado. And I believe that God made that appointment for us.

 

I preface this story with the reason for our trek to St. Louis. One of Bird's fraternity brothers got married in St. Louis this past weekend, so we trekked up there to enjoy some time with the Pi Kapps. I haven't gotten too many opportunities to hang out with his friends from college, and I have to say that I always have fun, but I think I finally REALLY relaxed with them this weekend. I know, it took me long enough ;-) It was a lovely wedding, fun reception, and the rooftop bar at the afterparty hotel had a great view. After we shut the bar down, some of us felt the need for some Taco Bell, so we walked to one close by, conned some guys in a car into buying us a couple of boxes of tacos, and had a lovely picnic on the Taco Bell lawn at 3:00 am.

 

The next morning, Sunday, Bird and I got prepared to head out from the hotel. We were going to go to the City Museum in St. Louis, which when we got there we decided really wasn't our cup of tea. So, we left and decided to go grab something to eat before heading down the highway. Then, Bird said we needed museum redemption, so we went to the Missouri History Museum over in Forest Park to see some exhibits (hi Kristyn!). That one decision changed our leave time by about an hour and a half to two hours.

 

We started driving down I-44. By the time we were getting close to Springfield, one of the radio stations started running weather coverage for storms headed into southwest Missouri from Oklahoma. All of a sudden, they're talking about tornado warnings and watches and flood watches and other nasty things that make you not want to be on the highway. The clouds start getting dark ahead. Then we hear that a tornado has hit Joplin. We call and check on some folks. Folks call and check on us. We decide to pull off the highway in Springfield and reassess our situation at a Buffalo Wild Wings.

 

Then we see the disaster coverage and realize what we're dealing with. We hear that they've closed I-44 at mile marker 18 and are diverting traffic. We look at the weather maps on the giant screen at the nearly empty BWW. We, as good Okies do, interpret the hook echoes and the pretty colors. And we worry about how to approach this situation. After some wings, we decide to get back into the car and head out. Bird is about to top off the tank when the torrential downpour hits Springfield. So we sit in the car for a bit and call his cousin Tori, who is conveniently enough a student at Missouri State. After a lovely visit with her and some of her sorority sisters at her new house, we get back on the highway for real, knowng that we will have to find a way around Joplin to get home.

 

As lightning illuminates the skies south of I-44, we arrive at mile marker 18. We are diverted off the interstate into the unknown. We go north to avoid any storms to the south and then head west. It has been hard to get cell phone reception, so getting a map on the iPhone has been a challenge. We finally have one, but it is hard to find a road that goes where we need it to. We choose one. And it takes us into Joplin.

 

I have never seen anything like it. We were nowhere near the bulk of the damage and we were trying to avoid as much as possible (and were being diverted away as best the overtaxed emergency services could do), but we could still see the giant uprooted trees and the huge number of downed powerlines that almost made it impossible to navigate the streets. People wandered in family groups down the darkened streets. Shed walls were on the side of the road. I don't even know how many ambulances passed us with their lights and sirens on, besides the other emergency vehicles driving down the otherwise eerily quiet streets. Other cars moved at a snail's pace. I looked out the window and all I could say was, "Oh, my God." I feel grateful that we passed through in the dark--I would not have wanted to see that in the light of day in person.

 

We finally got to an intersection that appeared to be a command center. Several fire trucks and police vehicles were there and men and women in scrubs or other uniforms were parking cars on the sides of the road and walking toward the lights. As we turned the corner away from the chaos, I breathed a bit easier for us, as I knew that we were only a minute or two from returning to the interstate. Then I said a prayer for the people walking to the command center, because their jobs were just beginning.

 

About twenty minutes or so after we had gotten going on I-44 again, I looked over to the driver's seat, as Bird had gotten very quiet. It was late and he was tired, so I wanted to make sure he was ok and didn't want to switch. "Are you ok?" I asked

 

"I'm good. Just thanking God."

 

We had been listening to the radio weather and disaster coverage for a while at this point. If we had timed it differently and been in Joplin, the places we would have taken refuge would most likely have been just off of Rangeline Road and I-44. Those places don't exist anymore. I firmly believe that God guides and directs our steps, and I thank Him for keeping us away from there. I don't understand why we weren't there and others were. I don't pretend to have all the answers. But I do know that the people of Joplin need help. Here's one way, through the American Red Cross: http://newsroom.redcross.org/2011/05/22/joplin-tornado/ 

 

We're grateful for every day that we're given, but there are moments in life that remind you that every day is a gift. Nothing gives you an attitude adjustment like driving through the results of an EF-4 or 5 tornado.