There is a saying about the next natural disaster to hit Oklahoma, “it’s not if, but when.” When you consider that Oklahoma sees an average of 52 tornadoes a year, alongside floods, droughts, large storms with hail, and earthquakes, the next event is truly just around the corner. The people of Oklahoma are no strangers to Mother Nature’s fury.
There is another thing, we who live in the great state of Oklahoma, are used to witnessing. When a natural disaster happens; good people, neighbors and strangers alike, volunteer to help those who have been affected by these terrible circumstances.
When our family lived in Tecumseh, OK, we experienced this firsthand. One beautiful spring night, the weather suddenly changed. The programming on TV was interrupted by weather alerts and storm chasers. Soon, the maps on the screen showed the storms moving towards our community. There was enough excitement on the TV that we started to pay attention. Before long, the sirens began to sound. Aimee and I gathered up our daughters and quickly made our way to our neighbor’s cellar. There, we were joined by several other neighbors. We went in and closed the door. When we emerged, our neighborhood had been ravaged by a tornado. It went right through our neighborhood!
We immediately began going door-to-door, checking on our neighbors. Trees had been uprooted and thrown against houses. Cars had been damaged. We had a large hole in our roof and when I was finally able to climb on the roof and look inside, there was part of a trampoline inside. The cleanup would take a long time.
The next morning, our neighborhood was filled with people. Some were picking up trash, some were repairing damaged homes, while others were helping families recover their possessions. I was working in our yard when a group of men showed up with saws to help trim the damaged trees. They were part of the Southern Baptist Chainsaw Ministry. As we were working, food was brought by. It was delivered by the youth from the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The neighborhood was abuzz with people who were helping to restore what had been damaged by the tornado.
The tornado came and went quickly, but it left behind such damage. However, I witnessed something greater after that tornado came and went. I witnessed a community come together to help their neighbors. It did not matter if they were Methodist, Baptist or Pentecostal. What mattered is that people were in need and neighbors responded with a willingness to help. They knew people were in need and they responded to the need with what they had to help. I am grateful for good neighbors, around our state, and the world, who make a difference by sympathizing with those who are in need. This is what it means to be a good neighbor. A neighbor offers help, when help is needed.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
