“That’s Enough!”

“Take shelter now!” warned the weatherman. I think I wrote about the tornadoes we recently had in Oklahoma in another post. On the night of Monday, May 6, 2024, there was an “F4” that struck Barnsdall, Oklahoma. I grew up here and am somewhat used to tornadoes and their weird, strange behavior. I have heard several stories, and some of them will make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight out.

I heard of a family that found a box in their family room. It had gotten there via a tornado, and the box had made its way through the roof. When they opened the box, they found fine china, but none of it was broken.

One family had just sat down for dinner, and as soon as the prayer was said, the sirens went off. They went around the corner of the dining room, and all of them crammed into an inner closet. They heard the noise of the wind, debris, and destruction. After the tornado had passed, they exited their shelter, unharmed, from the storm. Their house was gone! But when they went back to the dining room, they found the table and chairs still in place. Even their dinner was still on the table. Even the paper napkins hadn’t moved with the silverware.

Tornadoes have been known to totally destroy one house and leave the next one on the street untouched as if it bounced over it. And it might have as the twisters spin like tops.

A few years ago, one of my cousins was in her car driving into town to pick up an order of pizzas for the celebration of her oldest son’s high school graduation. The monster tornado came up from behind her. Debris broke the car windows out and sucked her right out of the car, and threw her body. We know this because when they found her car, the seatbelt was still fastened. A sad story, for sure. But when they had her funeral, the fire marshal showed up and said the church was over the capacity limit. So, the church set up speakers outside, and the overflow stood in the heat to pay their respects. One by one, people got up to share how she had helped them with a practical need, and then she shared the gospel with them. Her husband confirmed that more than once, she emptied their savings account in order to help someone else. In their storm, she walked like Jesus did.

On May 6, 2024, the Barnsdall tornado didn’t destroy a local Catholic church but did break out some windows. The pastor described that debris was all over the sanctuary up until the altar. Behind the altar was a cross with Jesus hanging on it. The pastor said it looked as if Jesus had held out his hand and said, “That’s enough!”

We all face personal storms in our lives. Some turn out well, while others not so much. There will be times when Jesus will be walking through it with you. And at other times, He may hold his hand up and say, “That’s enough!”

Whenever there’s a storm, Jesus may already be in the boat with you, or He may walk on water to come to your side. (Luke 8:22-25) (John 6:16-21)