birthday.

Yesterday was my birthday, April 27th, which is my favorite day of the year. I love it more than other holidays because it is a day that doesn't belong to anyone else (except for people who were also born on that day, but I don't know them). I love celebrating Christ's birth and resurrection on those holidays, but I celebrate those things everyday with the freedom I have in Jesus. I don't need special days to celebrate Christ. I kind of do need a special day to celebrate myself. It was a great day, and I was made aware of how loved and blessed I am by the people in my life, as I am every year. But it was also a sad day.
On the way to dessert at the Melting Pot we got trapped in an intense hail storm under a green sky and several tornado warnings.  We sought shelter under an overhang while we decided how best to get safely home. I thought our weather was bad. I was definitely afraid of potential tornadoes affecting us at the wig wam, and was terribly sad to find that Effie had suffered some intense hail damage, along with my roommates' cars. The parking lot of the Woodlands was a disaster zone, the damage done by winds and hail was crazy, and I thought it was bad.
I had no idea of what was going on in the rest of the south until we got home and turned on the news, fearful for our safety.  Terror and sadness filled my heart as I heard about a mile wide tornado that barreled through Tuscaloosa, along with many other tornadoes in several states across the south. Over 300 people died on April 27, 2011, and there was nothing that could be done. Yes, it would have been great if these people could have had basements or storm shelters, but ultimately, these forces of nature were unstoppable.   I am praising the Lord that everyone I know that experienced these storms is alive and well, and I'm in awe of His mercy and grace.
God is powerful. His love is powerful, His Creation is powerful, and His power is unstoppable.  I feel so many emotions as I am in awe of this power, thankful for His provision in keeping the people I love under the shelter of His wings, yet hurting for those who are experiencing so much loss and devastation.
It's so hard not knowing the answers for everything, and it's definitely a process trusting God through things that seem impossible, but I cling to what I know, and that is that I am blessed and I see His power in the good on a daily basis.  We aren't entitled to life here on earth. God has given us life, and that is a blessing every single day. So I celebrate, I cry, and I praise God through it all, because I know that He is good.