NVC- July2012

The July entry for the NVC Messenger:

                                                                              Storms

 

During the month of July I am always reminded of a story told to me each summer since I can remember. It is a story about a young couple, four girls and an expectant wife. They were a farming family in 1945. She was busy raising the 4 daughters, the youngest just a baby and he was a hardworking farmer.
She saw the storm clouds roll in from her kitchen window and the funnel start to lower. She rushed to get her baby girls in the shelter in time. She called out to her husband and waited to see if he was coming to the shelter. They didn’t make it in time.
 

The pregnant woman was thrown, all 4 girls were tossed around, and the husband could not be seen. By the time the neighbors arrived to help it was too late. 3 little lives were whisked away with the storm winds. The baby was tossed about but survived. The woman was injured but barely, the husband was in very serious condition and they weren’t sure he’d make it.
 

The man survived. The woman and unborn child survived. The baby girl survived, she needed braces on her legs for many years but she made it. The family rebuilt. They tried to farm again but it was too much for him. They opened a small café along a quiet highway and began a new life.
 

He walked with a cane from that day on. He held his head high and always had a smile for anyone he met. It was easy to tell that each time he leaned on the cane he was leaning on the Lord. He carried around the kind of joy in his heart that only comes from knowing how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away. Whenever anyone would ask him “ how are you?” he would answer, “ I woke up this morning, that’s a good start”.
 

She was a strong woman, the kind of strength that only results in overcoming insurmountable odds and having the resolve to push forward no matter what happens. She was known for making the most beautiful birthday cakes and wedding cakes for the people in the county. She would put so much love and care into her work; I often wondered if, when she made those cakes if she thought about her three little girls, and the weddings she would never see.
 

They taught me an important lesson in life. No matter what storms rage in our lives and no matter how devastated and tragic the result, with God’s help we can rebuild and move on. I will always be so grateful to God that my family had the courage to overcome the storm.
Cathy Hayes