{"id":700,"date":"2013-05-22T01:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T01:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=700"},"modified":"2013-05-21T19:49:25","modified_gmt":"2013-05-21T19:49:25","slug":"moore-oklahoma-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/05\/moore-oklahoma-and-beyond.html","title":{"rendered":"Moore, Oklahoma, and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maureen<\/a>As many of us watched in real-time as the two-mile-wide behemoth of a tornado bore down on Moore, Oklahoma, yesterday, I was reminded of another night many years ago when I, a small child, my brother and parents hunkered down in our basement as two tornadoes hit our neighborhood within 5 minutes of each other. There were no warning sirens, then; my mother had felt the wind pressing against the wall of the bedroom, and suspected something was about to happen.<\/p>\n

I remember being awakened from sleep by my mother who scooped me up and hurried me downstairs. I remember the roaring sound and odd way the air pressure seemed to fluctuate as the storms neared. No rain, at first, but after the double hit, it started, and my parents baled out the basement bucket by bucket as my brother and I sat together in the dry part of the room.<\/p>\n

The next day, the sun shone brilliantly on a neighborhood pock-marked by destruction. Across the street from us, all that was left of one house was the chimney. Next to it, another house sat, unscathed. We’d lost shingles, but not much else. Our neighbors said they’d looked outside and seen one of the tornadoes hover over our house, and then move on. Many others were not so fortunate; we walked around the block and saw building after building either destroyed or half-so.<\/p>\n

As I think about the children caught up in the massive twister that ravaged Moore, I pray for them, their families, and those who lost loved ones. Even with the distance of seeing the scenes unfold on television instead, it is an excruciatingly painful scene. Yet, I also want to offer some words of hope.<\/p>\n

I can look back on my experience weathering a tornado as a child, and I can say that, although I do have memories, I carry no scars. True, our house was spared. But it was what happened beyond that night that made the difference, I think. First, there was the knowledge of being protected by my parents. Second, there was the coming together of the community in the aftermath, the support, and the strength. Third, and not lastly, there was faith that carried on in the days and weeks afterward.<\/p>\n

The tragedy of Moore, like Joplin, and other areas hit by natural disaster, is not to be taken lightly. The losses of life (and young life, in particular) are going to be felt for years to come.\u00a0 Yes, there will be much mourning. But what I remember from my childhood experience\u00a0was the loss seen in sunlight and the work that commenced to rebuild.\u00a0 Nothing can change what has happened. But everyone can have a hand in the positive things that shall come.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As many of us watched in real-time as the two-mile-wide behemoth of a tornado bore down on Moore, Oklahoma, yesterday, I was reminded of another night many years ago when I, a small child, my brother and parents hunkered down in our basement as two tornadoes hit our neighborhood within 5 minutes of each other.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[595,103,592,591,589,138,590,594,593],"class_list":["post-700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encouragement-in-life","tag-after-the-storm","tag-children","tag-destruction","tag-loss","tag-moore-oklahoma","tag-storm","tag-tornado","tag-tornadoes","tag-twister"],"yoast_head":"\nMoore, Oklahoma, and Beyond - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\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\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/05\/moore-oklahoma-and-beyond.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Moore, Oklahoma, and Beyond - 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":702,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions\/702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}