Chapter 5
Protected Through the Storm
March 18, 2020
What the Storm Left Behind
When daylight came, I was able to see just how close the storm had come. A transformer had been hit, sending a surge of electricity through the camper and knocking out the power.
The only physical damage to the camper came from the security light pole. Part of the pole had broken off and slammed against the front of the camper, leaving a small dent and a cut in the metal that was easily repaired.
There had also been a picnic table positioned between the camper and the truck. The storm swept it away, yet the truck was left with only a small quarter-inch dent where the picnic table had struck it.
My dad made an observation that stayed with me. He said that when a tornado hits, things don't normally just stack neatly on top of one another the way the items in the shed had. Things go flying or scatter everywhere.
I told him, “That was angels protecting me.”
He responded that campers usually either go flying or roll over—and then said something I have never forgotten:
“I say it was God's hand of protection keeping that camper in place.”
After the Storm
Although the camper had remained standing through the tornado, the transformer that was hit caused an electrical surge that damaged the wiring inside. Just a couple of weeks later, a couple came and purchased the camper at a fair price, even after knowing what had happened.
Two years later, I traded the truck for a car. At the time, I was looking at gas prices approaching $4 a gallon and a commute of more than 50 miles each way to work. From a practical standpoint, trading the truck seemed to make sense.
But there was something I failed to do: I didn't pray and ask the Lord whether I should trade it.
Only six months later, I found another job just five miles from home. Had I known what was ahead, I might have made a very different decision.
Yet even through my failure to inquire of the Lord, He still turned my decision into a blessing. The truck would have been paid off by March 2026, but the car I drive now gets nearly twice the gas mileage. God has continued to provide for me even through a decision I made without first seeking His direction.
Today, as I step further into the calling God placed on my life, I once again find myself needing both a truck and a camper for ministry travel. This time, however, there is another lesson woven into the story: not only to trust God for His provision, but to seek His direction before making the decision.
And I can still look back and remember:
The God who provided before is still Jehovah Jireh—my Provider.
Looking back, I can see God's hand throughout this entire experience. He woke me in the middle of the night and prompted me to pray before I knew what was coming. When the storm surrounded me, He protected me. When circumstances changed afterward, He continued to provide.
I also learned that trusting God means more than calling on Him when the storm comes. It means seeking Him in the decisions I make along the way. There have been times when I moved according to what seemed practical instead of first asking the Lord for His direction. Yet even when I have gotten ahead of Him, I have seen His grace turn my mistakes into opportunities for blessing and growth.
The same God who protected me then is the God I trust today. I may not always know what is ahead, but I know the One who does.
He is my Protector, my Guide, and Jehovah Jireh—my Provider.
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust...”
— Psalm 91:1–2, 4 (KJV)
The Night of the Tornado
About two years after I was called into ministry, God had provided both a small RV and a truck. On March 18, 2020, I was awakened around 3:00 a.m. Everything was unusually quiet, and I felt strongly in my spirit that I needed to pray for protection.
When I finished praying, I lay very still. Then I heard it—the sound of a tornado. The camper began jerking and shaking around me, and one thought crossed my mind: This little RV is going to go flying.
For a moment, fear tried to take over. But I rebuked that fear. I knew that if I were to die, I would go to heaven. As I rebuked the fear, everything suddenly stopped.
Reflection
Surrounded By Destruction
When daylight came, I began to see the extent of what had happened around me. The camper had been parked beside a building because my RV hookup was located on its outside wall. During the tornado, the roof of that building was ripped completely off and thrown into the road. Two entire walls came down, along with part of another wall.
Large sections of the building were scattered across the property. Debris surrounded the camper, and one section of the wall came down beside the slide-out, missing it by only inches.
On the other side of my truck, a basketball goal had been bent all the way to the ground.
The evidence of the storm was everywhere. A building beside me had been torn apart. Heavy sections of walls and roof had been moved. The basketball goal had been bent over. Debris had been thrown and scattered all around me.
Yet my camper remained standing. My truck remained beside it. And I was safe inside.
CHAPTER
The Morning After the Tornado
March 18, 2020
