My home

My home state is being destroyed by mother nature. In Cedar Rapids, 400 city blocks are under water. At least 3/4 of the state has been declared a disaster area. The entire flood plain of the Raccoon River in Des Moines is full. People are facing evacuation. Homes are being destroyed, memories are being lost, and hope for some relief from all this rain is fading. I get upset just watching it all on TV. As much as I like to hear about my home, I like it significantly less than when it's on the news for something like this.

Fortunately, my specific home is safe. My small little suburb isn't near any large pool of water that is causing significant damage. I'm sure there has been some water in our basement, but nothing to the extent of what other people are facing. Waverly, however, (home of my undergraduate university-- Wartburg College) is feeling it, as they lie on the same river that is invading Cedar Rapids. Several of the dorm buildings have been damaged, and friends still living in the town have been evacuated. It's a bleak situation for me, and I"m not even anywhere near the damage.

Furthermore, the storms just keep coming. And it's not just rain, it's destructive tornados. A tornado killed four boy scouts, all around my brother's age, on Wednesday night. Another town was destroyed about two weeks ago. 170 some tornados have run through Kansas, and 134 through Iowa. When will it end?

Despite all this horror, I'm trying to find reason to celebrate. Many of the boy scouts who survived the tornado went from terrified to courageous in a matter of instances. People are coming together to help save homes, and businesses, and lives. The rain will end. And at the end, the state of Iowa will wake up beaten, but not broken.

This weekend I'm off to celebrate the wedding of one of my dear friends in St. Louis. Yet this past week's destruction of the place I love so much will prominently linger in my mind. I ask for your prayers and thoughts for the people of the Hawkeye state.