Life ad-libbed

The tornados the last few days, particularly the one in Joplin where so many were hurt and killed and still missing have really weighed heavy on my heart the past few days.  Last night as Andy and I were leaving Stillwater and hearing reports on the news only 8-10 minutes after we left that a tornado had damaged several homes, I felt  a sense of relief that we were out of danger.  But at the same time I was very concerned for all my old classmates that I have re-connected with through the reunion planning that are in Stillwater.  Andy’s phone was completely dead and he was talking to his dad when it went dead .  My son Chris and daughter in law Juliet were texting me to find out where we were.  And more than one co-worker called, texted trying to make sure I was safe.  My own phone was almost dead and didn’t have the power to text everyone back.  The phone charger wouldn’t work.  It was not a good situation because I knew there were people concerned that couldn’t reach me…and family I was concerned about in the OKC and surrounding area that I couldn’t call. I know a lot of people don’t like Facebook but it was a huge benefit to me last night.  My daughter in-law Juliet knew the whereabouts and condition of all my family because of facebook posts my niece and nephew were making from the tornado shelters they were in.   We had the radio on.  But a lot of the places they were mentioning as in the path, neither Andy or I had ever  heard of.  I put an atlas in my car this morning.  Next time they are saying that Ralston and Edna and Stella are in the path I’ll be able to know if that means I am.  Once I was home safe, I got my “tornado kit” together and put in the small bathroom under my stairs that is my “safe place”.  Since I’m diabetic, my bag has glucose tablets, medication, water, and food in case I am buried under rubble but still alive.  That would be awful to survive a tornado only to die from going into a diabetic coma.  I had a flashlight, a radio, my cell phone and a change of clothes in my backpack.   The cushions from the couch, a blanket, and several pillows.  I was prepared to take cover if the sirens went off.  They didn’t and for that I am grateful.   The key words here being I WAS PREPARED.All this to say, that what is on  my mind today is that no matter how much you prepare, you still never know when tragedy and devastation can strike.   Just like the people in Joplin who thought they were safe in a hospital but the hospital got hit.  You can do all you can to prepare, but there are a lot of factors that you simply can’t control.Life has a tendency to throw things at you that you aren’t prepared for.   And even if you think you are prepared , sometimes you find out you aren’t.  I thought I had mentally prepared for when my kids would go off to college and I would be home alone but the reality of it was that I struggled when that happened.   I thought I had prepared for the impending death of my mother but when it happened I wasn’t prepared at all.  I think this is why I am not a “planner”.  I just kind of take things as they come. Because there has never been a time in my life where I made a plan and had it set in stone that it didn’t get changed.  Because ultimately, the only person you have control over is you.  And even then you don’t have control over what happens to you.  That’s not to say you should not make any preparations because things always change.  I always prepare for my comedy routine for example.  I write it out, then put it on note cards, then memorize it, then practice it in front of a mirror until I have it so set in my head that it just flows out of my mouth.  NOT!   Because no matter how prepared I am, something always happens to change my routine up a bit.  I’ll think of something funny as I’m saying something else and ad lib it in.  Or judging from the crowd reaction will leave something out that I am pretty sure won’t go over.  And that’s pretty much what I do in life.  I ad lib.  Make it up as I go.  Go with the flow.  Have an outline but fill in the details as life happens.  One thing I have not left to chance.  When everyone was talking about the rapture last week  , I can honestly say I didn’t give it a second thought. (well  other than to join in on some of the joking) Not because I believe that no one knows the day or the hour just as the Bible says and so I thought the prediction was kinda ridiculous. But because I have complete confidence of where I will be when I leave this earth, by “rapture” or by death.  It is this confidence, this faith that carries me through life with a degree of calmness in the midst of a life full of twists and turns and hills and valleys, joys and sorrows, disappointments and triumph.   In matters for Faith, I am prepared.

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