thanksgiving.

We've been under a tornado watch this weekend. I never know how to handle that.

It's been two years since the tornado hit Union. Two new classes have come in that don't know what it was like to go through that, to see campus destroyed, possessions scattered, life scrambling to go back to some form of normal. "Tornado semester," as they call it, was killer.

Half the students who were here still joke around about tornado conditions. The rest of us are unsure how serious to take it. I figured I would at least pack my tornado bag, as they encourage us to do, since the weather was being typical bipolar Jackson.

It was stormy last night. And the weather is again uncertain this morning. I received a text message informing me on what to do if the sirens go off, and I was again feeling that nervousness and uncertainty that storms bring. But I was talking to my God, and here's what I found: a heart of thanks.

Thank You for being the Calmer of the storm
Thank You for Psalm 91 and for the safety of Your wings and the shield of Your truth
Thank You for when I am alone (but You are with me)
Thank You for when I am with friends (but You are with me)
Thank You for smoothies and cookie dough and Jell-O
Thank You for friends who have been through a tornado and know what to do
Thank You for giving me time - for sleep, for work, for play, for REST
Thank You for safe corners and cushions and blankets
Thank You for rocking chairs and watching the rain
Thank You for moms who worry
Thank You for dads who pray
Thank You for new mornings every day
Thank You for one step closer to You