Hurricanes can bring about a great amount of destruction.

But while they may cover a wider area, affected areas often have days in advance to prepare and evacuate.

Tornadoes, however, can be truly terrifying. It’s not just the fact that they’re so destructive, but when you add that they can seemingly appear out of nowhere. And when they do, the havoc that they cause is instant.

This is why many families across the American South and Midwest where most tornadoes occur have protocols dealing with what to do should a tornado hit. And the only practical thing one can really do is head for the nearest shelter.

But while occurrences of tornadoes can be scenes of destruction and tragedy, they can also provide testimony to God’s grace.

Crawford Tatum and his loved ones are among those blessed ones, reported WSFA. A tornado had torn through their 200-acre farm on March 4.

Tatum happened to be in his truck the time the twister ripped through. His son had managed to hold up in a barn with Tatum’s grandchildren and advised him not to come closer.

Payton Tatum, his daughter-in-law, said, “By God’s grace they survived. What we lost is just stuff, it can all be replaced, and it doesn’t really matter in the end.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported how a group of schoolchildren had an even narrower brush with death in McCracken County, Kentucky. A tornado struck Mount Zion Baptist Church on the week of March 17.

A group of roughly 40 preschool-aged children happened to be in the facility when the tornado hit. As the twister started to tear the roof of the concrete building, adults hurriedly hustled the children into the innermost room.

As this was happening, preschool director Michelle Rushing said that the children began singing “Jesus Loves Me,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and other children’s songs as the tornado hit. When they left the room, they were in for the shock of their lives.

Not only had the twister flattened the nursery but it had also ripped the roof off the sanctuary.

But an even more dramatic miracle happened in early March, reported WJZY when an E4 tornado (one of the strongest types of tornadoes) ripped through their house.

Chaplain Jason Smith was with Billy Graham’s Rapid Response Team when they arrived at the house afterward and what he found out left him dumbfounded.

The family had taken refuge in their grandmother’s prayer closet. It was a tiny section of the house that she’d reserved solely for praying. Although they made it through the storm just fine, the same couldn’t be said of their house.

As Smith and his team arrived, all he saw was a small room in the middle of a concrete slab that was swept clean of everything. And that small room was the prayer closet.

“Listen to me please,” Smith wrote on Facebook. “I just left a family who survived the tornado in this house and the only left standing is this closet. It’s the grandmother’s prayer closet, and the whole family survived.

“Are you kiddin’ me!!!” Smith continued. “My God is awesome!!! Shout somebody!”

 

 

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