{"id":5395,"date":"2025-05-21T13:47:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=5395"},"modified":"2025-05-21T13:47:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:47:57","slug":"each-one-a-child-of-god-kentucky-governor-leans-on-faith-after-deadly-tornado-claims-19-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2025\/05\/each-one-a-child-of-god-kentucky-governor-leans-on-faith-after-deadly-tornado-claims-19-lives.html","title":{"rendered":"‘Each One a Child of God’: Kentucky Governor Leans on Faith After Deadly Tornado Claims 19 Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Left: Adobe Stock | Right: Governor Andy Beshear \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Kentucky reels from a devastating tornado that claimed the lives of 19 people, Gov. Andy Beshear offered words of comfort rooted in faith, calling each victim “a child of God” and asking for continued prayers for the injured and displaced.<\/p>\n

“We have lost 19 people to this weather event, each one a child of God who will be missed by their families,” Beshear said in a solemn statement<\/a> on Sunday. “Please keep praying for them, the 10 individuals being treated at U.K. Hospital, and for everyone affected by these storms.”<\/p>\n

The deadly twister struck Friday as part of a larger storm system that swept through the region, also leaving fatalities in Missouri. In Kentucky, the hardest-hit area was Laurel County’s Sunshine Hills community, where all but two of the state’s tornado deaths occurred. Many victims were between the ages of 50 and 70, including first responders like Maj. Leslie “Les” Roger Leatherman, 57, of the Laurel County Fire Department.<\/p>\n

Leatherman died while on his way home from responding to a residential fire call. He and his wife Michelle were found in a field, hundreds of feet from their demolished home. Michelle survived, though she remains in critical but stable condition.<\/p>\n

“It actually appears that he gave his life to save her life,” said Deputy Fire Chief Terry Wattenbarger. “He was just truly a public servant at heart.”<\/p>\n

Gov. Beshear encouraged those who could help to donate to the Kentucky Storm Relief Fund. “From paying for funerals to helping rebuild, every dollar donated goes directly to survivors,” he said.<\/p>\n

Local churches have become places of both refuge and wrestling in the wake of the disaster.<\/p>\n

Pastor Sean Ryan of First United Methodist Church in London, Kentucky, spoke honestly about his struggle to understand God’s role in the tragedy.<\/p>\n

“My question was, ‘Where are you, God?'” he shared with his congregation on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Yet other pastors urged their communities to trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness even amid the rubble. Pastor Robert Williams of Slate Hill Baptist Church, whose building lost its roof in the storm, chose to deliver the sermon he had already prepared before the tornado: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”<\/p>\n

“When I came up here yesterday, I was wrestling with [whether] I need to do another sermon for the disaster,” Williams admitted. “And I felt the Holy Spirit say, ‘No, I gave you that sermon for a reason.’ He knew this was going to happen. God knows everything.”<\/p>\n

Preaching from Matthew 6:25-27, he reminded his displaced congregation of Jesus’ words: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life… But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“It’s okay not to have all the answers,” Williams said. “We never know why things happen, but we just know God is in control no matter what.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Kentucky reels from a devastating tornado that claimed the lives of 19 people, Gov. Andy Beshear offered words of comfort rooted in faith, calling each victim “a child of God” and asking for continued prayers for the injured and displaced. “We have lost 19 people to this weather event, each one a child of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":5398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n'Each One a Child of God': Kentucky Governor Leans on Faith After Deadly Tornado Claims 19 Lives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gov. Beshear calls tornado victims \u201cchildren of God\u201d and urges prayer as Kentucky churches seek hope and healing after deadly storm kills 19.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2025\/05\/each-one-a-child-of-god-kentucky-governor-leans-on-faith-after-deadly-tornado-claims-19-lives.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Each One a Child of God': Kentucky Governor Leans on Faith After Deadly Tornado Claims 19 Lives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gov. Beshear calls tornado victims \u201cchildren of God\u201d and urges prayer as Kentucky churches seek hope and healing after deadly storm kills 19.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2025\/05\/each-one-a-child-of-god-kentucky-governor-leans-on-faith-after-deadly-tornado-claims-19-lives.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Where Hope Lives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-21T13:47:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/399\/2025\/05\/Tornado_credit-Left-Adobe-Stock-Right-Governor-Andy-Beshear-Facebook.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beliefnet Contributors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Each One a Child of God': Kentucky Governor Leans on Faith After Deadly Tornado Claims 19 Lives","description":"Gov. 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