Tornado Tuesdays - Insights On Navigating Life's Storms

On April 27th, 2011 Alabama was hit by what meteorologists call a "generational event" - a weather event that only comes around once in a generation. On that day Alabama was hit with the most tornados in its recorded history. I lost my house, car, and belongings that day. I am a tornado survivor.

I was in the hallway of my sister-in-law's house as the tornado violently ripped apart her home. My four kids, my sister-in-law, and her two-year-old daughter were all crouched in that hallway during the five-second horrifying ordeal.

Thankfully, we crawled out from the rubble of that hallway and house to see the destruction the tornado had cause. It was devastating. However, I looked into the faces of my children and the fear and confusion they had on their faces shook me to my core.

As a father, I kept them safe from the onslaught of that storm. However, the unseen forces of that event and the future that held was unknown at that instance. That is what worried me the most. I can fix cuts, scrapes, and every day booboos but how could I fix trauma from a natural disaster?

It was at that very moment I made a vow to ensure I would work even harder to provide a safe home for my kids. I didn't want to see that look in their eyes ever again. This traumatic experience set the tone for me to move forward through many obstacles or struggles on the job. I adopted an attitude and saying - "If my family and I could survive a tornado then we are capable of anything."

Years after that day, I would sometimes stare at my children's faces when they were having fun or playing with family and friends. It reminded me that I never wanted to see fear and confusion in their eyes like I saw on that day. The happiness on their faces inspired me to do my best for them every day as they grew older. Even now that they are grown they are still my inspiration.