I want a "do-over"

Being born and raised in Oklahoma, you learn not only the fear of possibilities, but how swiftly those possibilities change in an instant.  We see that familiar green/grey wall cloud and the slight damp breeze and you know to immediately check the weather for patterns and plan to act accordingly for the following…

Thunderstorm watch

Thunderstorm warning

Tornado watch

Tornado warning

…when actually we are looking to see how much “red” is coming to our area. Then we know to bolt when we hear the comfort and panic of one statement.

“Take…cover…immediately”.

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Regarding the catastrophe in Japan, I don’t know WHAT I feel at this moment.  I am not sad, not angry; certainly not comfortable…just numb. NUMB.

I want a “do- over”.

I want to go back 48 hours, where I knew the international cycle of production and well- being was on auto pilot and our biggest concern was still jobs, gas prices and “winning”.  I want to go back to where we felt secure knowing life was good and living it no less than to its fullest with no worries of things beyond our control.  Sure, we have experienced devastation with tornadoes and earthquakes and flooding and yes, even tsunamis before…but as we continue to recover, we grasp at the hope that the devastation will end and we learn from our shortfalls and lack of preparation. 

We wanted to believe we would be prepared… next time.

Now the horrific content that we were so grateful we could only imagine has become our new reality.  Nuclear radiation…no utilities….missing persons…explosions… you can’t help but pull your head out of the sand and think..

“This is not about what has happened…it is about what WILL happen and what will CONTINUE TO HAPPEN without a “red” area to observe and no “take cover immediately” to lean on to help us predict and act accordingly.”

I will continue to pray for those both directly and indirectly affected by this international tragedy, just as I will continue to pray that we, as an international body, will continue to come together as devastation and destruction strikes again.