Living, Loving in the Moment

About a thousand tornadoes have touched down in the United States so far this year. This exceeds the average number in a year. Scary. We were horrified to see the swath of destruction through Joplin, Missouri, as a tornado tore through that town of 50,000. More than 120 people died and 2,000 buildings were destroyed.

I don't know about you, but I was moved as I listened to the recording of a group of people who took refuge in a convenience store. We couldn't see them because the power was out, but we could hear them. Children cried in terror, someone called out to Jesus, a man told the others that he loved them. There was an intimacy to it all that got to me. http://www.salttvnetwork.com/articles/20110523/gut-wrenching-recording-inside-joplin-missouri-convenience-store-paints-harrowing-

It took me to the story of the Last Supper in John where Jesus offers assurance to his followers with his arrest and crucifixion looming large. We go about our daily activities assuming that we will be around forever, often taking one another for granted. It's not that we're "holding out," we just aren't focussed on the preciousness of life.

Was anyone else touched by hearing that convenience store recording? Do you think we get caught up in the everyday and forget to express love and support to those who are most important to us? What would you be saying, and who would you want to say it to in a situation of life and death?