August 2007

Restless Friend Gains Peace and Perspective in the Aftermath of a Devastating Tornado

I had been battling what my friend, Seth, calls “a deep, blue funk.” I had a great life—good job, nice house, great kids, a beautiful wife, Konnie, and most things a person could ever want. But none of that seemed to matter. I was letting problems bug me. I was fighting the IRS, I didn’t like how my job kept changing, and I couldn’t seem to get my debts paid down quickly enough. I told my wife that I thought I was heading for a nervous breakdown. She had sympathy for me and tried to remind me of how good things are. She was right, but I just didn’t get it.

The next night, May 4, we watched TV and then decided to go to bed. Konnie turned on the local news to see what was happening. At first, I didn’t understand what was going on. The broadcasters seemed a bit stunned. Then I heard three words that shook me from my drowsiness: Greensburg, tornado, devastation. Are they talking about Greensburg, Kansas?, I thought. Of course they were. The numbers started coming in—60% destroyed, 70% destroyed, 100% damage.

The next day, TV images told the story. Greensburg was gone. As if someone had hit a button and launched a nuclear weapon on this town of 1,800, it lay in ruins. I thought of Seth’s family and my co-worker who live in Greensburg. I thought of the countless hours I had spent in that town. I just couldn’t wrap my head around this level of tragedy that had hit so close to home.

I heard from my friend, Brandon Thompson. He had been living on the Thompson Farm two years before when fire broke out. Brandon gave me the news that “it’s all gone—completely wiped out.” How much should one family go through?

My dad called, wondering if I would like to go to Haviland, the town ten miles east of Greensburg, to visit, help, and comfort people—whatever we could do. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

Our first visit was to the Thompson Farm. From a mile away, we could see that the tree row had been shaved off. Where the house had stood, there was now only a concrete foundation. Where there had been barns, there was only rubble. Where the combines had been, there was nothing.

What took years to build, a tornado destroyed in seconds. The Thompson family was in shock, but give up? No, they were too busy cleaning, rounding up cattle, and mending fences. That’s what people in this part of the world do.

On the way home that night, Dad and I stopped in to visit with Seth’s dad, Ron. After the storm took Ron’s house, he went up from the basement and saw the destruction around him. After being thankful to be alive, he then thought, “I’d better go check on my neighbor.”

That was the theme from the Greensburg tornado. It wasn’t chaos, looting, or “Where’s the government?” It was a simple yet profound thought— “How’s my neighbor?” People who had just lost everything didn’t waste a minute assessing their own damage. Their first priority was to help their neighbors. Barclay College students dug through the rubble to find clothes and other household items that could be salvaged. People from all over the state offered help to their neighbors. Of course, there were tears, shock, and ruin. But the greater presence was “love thy neighbor.”

One of the most important questions that Jesus said could be asked was and still is, “How’s my neighbor?” (see Lk 10:26-28). The story of the Greensburg tornado that destroyed a Kansas town, farms, and lives wasn’t in the power of destruction and chaos that this tornado brought. The story was in the power of faith, hope, and love. Faith to make it through the storm. Hope to rebuild. Love for neighbors and for life itself.

I’m proud and humbled by my fellow Kansans. In some ways, I am ashamed because of my preoccupation with personal problems on May 3. On May 5, I saw what real problems are and I saw a community and a people face those problems with courage and love. I’ll never forget what I saw. But more than that, I’ll never forget what I heard: “How’s my neighbor?” I expect my “deep, blue funk” is history.

—Geoff Robinson

For the full article and more, check out Geoff’s blog.