A Time To Be Careful and Helpful, Not Fearful

     I slept through the tornado sirens on Saturday night.  I sort of laughed about it when my husband told me.  Fortunately, and unbeknownst to me, he was up watching the weather in case we needed to take better cover.  Not surprisingly, my children also slept through the storm.  (Storms only wake them if they happen after 4 a.m. in which case they’ll be up for the day!)

      By Sunday evening, the thought that I had slept through the sirens made me a bit nervous.  After hearing the devastating news about Joplin and Reading, my heart ached.  Fear also began creeping into my thoughts.  “What if my husband is out of town and the sirens go off and my children and I sleep through them.”  “What if I don’t protect them like I should?”  “What if, what if, what if?” ran rampantly throughout my thoughts.

     The horrible tragedy in Joplin is a reminder of how uncertain life on earth is.  Things can change in a moment.  We can’t spend our whole lives hunkered down in a shelter, either figurative or literal.  Eventually, we have to let our children climb higher, run faster and even go places without us. 

     Living in fear is a horrible place to live, even when the fear is justified.  At the end of our lives, we’ll never wish we’d worried more.  We’ll wish we lived more.  We’ll wish we lived more even when the weather reports warn of super cells. 

     I don’t know what that type of living looks like for you, but for me it means hugging my kids more and nagging them less.  It means leaving the dirty dishes to go for an after dinner walk with my husband and kids.  It means making sure that too much time doesn’t go by without me telling those I love how much they mean to me.   It also means reaching out to those who are hurting because their fears, both big and small, have come true. 

      So today, remember to live without regrets.  Life is precious and the Giver of Life is in control.  Also, if you haven’t already done so, take a few minutes to research how you can help the people of Joplin or Reading and then do it.  Helping others, whether it’s your family or a stranger, is one way to live that you’ll never regret.