What I Learned in Tuscaloosa

The tornadoes came and left their marks behind....and in a matter of hours we were hard at work at Soles4Souls trying to get items of need to the victims of the horrible storms that pummeled the South. I started to google shelters in the Tuscaloosa area and learned that the University of Alabama was an emergency shelter. The very first person I got on the phone was a sweet voice that belonged to Judy and she was glad to see shoes coming her way for the students and individuals that lost everything. In one day, we had items on the way to Cullman and Tuscaloosa via Soles4Souls staffers and our partners at Cross Point Church.
And on Friday, April 29th, I headed down to Tuscaloosa myself. I had connected with Judy again, and wanted to survey the needs firsthand. Saturday morning I met her on a peaceful road right outside of town and followed her into utter devastation. Her husband is the pastor of a small church of about 200-300 people in the Cottondale area. We pulled up to a church that had severe roof damage, no electricity and power lines down all around it. But inside, there was an army of men, women and children mobilizing supplies, making meals and supporting each other.
Judy and I loaded up the Soles4Souls-mobile with food, toilet paper and cold water and began to drive around neighborhoods and deliver items...I was not prepared for what I witnessed. I have seen damage by floods and hurricanes, I have seen Haiti, with its chaos and overturned buildings still in shambles. This was unlike anything I have ever seen. Entire neighborhoods wiped clean...people walking around just picking up whatever scraps of their life they could identify. Strangers cutting through limbs and trees to clear streets so that people could get out. Foundations with homes that are no longer there....just a concrete slab. Trees popped in two like toothpicks....it was surreal, heartbreaking and breathtaking...

But it was also one of the moments in life that ground me, and how thankful I am for the moments....When I realize all that matters is what we give in this life, not what we take. And again I was reminded of how grateful I am for my job with this amazing organization full of people that are passionate about changing lives. Thankful for people like Judy, that through providence answered my call and invited me to join her and the congregation of Fleetwood Baptist as they served hurting individuals all day long. MINDFUL of the fact that every meeting, every email, every phone call is a chance to truly MAKE A DIFFERENCE.