I seem to be fascinated by the weather lately; we either have really mild winters or really cold ones here in the southwestern part of Missouri. The mild ones we usually have rain, and the cold ones are snowy. But this winter is the first one I can remember in a long time where we literally go from spring-like weather to winter weather every few days.

I really don't recall having bad enough storms to have tornadoes in January or February; some blame it on 'global warming', some on La Nina. I read one news story where a relative of a person who died in the recent storms said that she "struggled to grasp why God would take her sister. That's his wrath," she said, looking toward the wreckage. "For some reason, he's not happy right now and this is. ... Nobody understands God's will. I sure don't understand it.

Said Anita Goodnight, the sisters' aunt: "God didn't do it. Satan did."

I've always wondered why God created such a devastating weather phenomenon. Every since I was a kid I've always been deathly scared of thunderstorms. My mother used to cover my bedroom windows with a blanket so I couldn't see the lightening flashes. At times our family would actually drive to a downtown parking garage to wait out the storms. I remembered at times begging my father to drive us there when warnings were issued. Ironically, that was probably the worse place to be; if that garage had collapsed, we would probably not have survived.

I remember during one storm I was in our car with my dad and sister (can't remember if my mom was with us) and he had stopped under a highway overpass and my dad & sister got out of the car to see if they could 'see' the tornado passing over. Me? I was huddled in the fetal position in the back seat wishing we could just go home! (or to the underground garage!)

I admit that as I got older I learned to tolerate storms more; I'm okay during the day, but at night I still get a little nervous. In the 12 years we have lived in our current house, we've not had a tornado hit. The January storms were probably the closest that one has come to hitting our neighborhood since we've lived here. I always wonder if the next one will be 'the one'.

So in my 43 yrs of life, I've never seen or been through a tornado. I've had dreams about them, watched them on TV, read storm chaser blogs about them; tried to 'face my fear' so to speak. But I will admit that when a storm hits in the middle of the night, I still wake up hearing the thunder rolling while it's still miles away. And I usually do not get back to sleep until it passes by.

My faith that God will keep us safe through the storms has gotten stronger over the years, but I will always wonder if the next one will be 'the one' that will hit home. Either that or I move to Alaska. But I don't think that's the answer to my fear, do you??