Storm warnings

I was at the Baccalaureate service for my nephew when the tornado sirens began to sound.
It was unsettling. Text messages from my middle sister told us that she and her family would not be attending since they were in the storm cellar under their house.
The Hub, who is the 911 director in the same county, was at work helping field calls during what turned out to be a whopper of a tornado.
It's that time of year. The swath tornado alley cuts through the heartland surely encompasses the Sooner State.
It's something Okies are accustomed to, though none of us like the fact.
When I was a child, I knew storm season had set in when my Mama took our baby pictures and the same big ole Beeswax candle down to the cellar. They stayed there until storm season passed. It was comforting to me, somehow. Knowing that our pictures were safe and that the candle would be there waiting for us if we had to make a run for shelter.
I asked her about it while we were waiting for the senior's special service to start.
"I hadn't thought of that candle for years," she said.
I told her I can still remember how it smelled. I love beeswax to this day. Because it was  so pretty, embellished all around with gilded cherubs.  I thought she was preserving it. Now I realize it was to be our light in the dark cellar if need be.
We spent a good amount of time down in the cellar. It was dark and dank. A cot and some lawn chairs stayed on the ready. There were rows and rows of jars. Back then Mama and Grandma canned fruits and vegetables and stored them there in the cellar.  We would not have gone hungry if we'd had to stay in that cellar for any extended amount of time.

I didn't much like it down there but I sure felt safe. Right now, safety is something I don't feel.
Every few minutes for the past few days, word of another storm comes across the media.
For the second time in two days, the news is filled with tales of damage and loss.
The stories break my heart. The Hub just came home and took a nap, something he seldom does. He is exhausted from dispatching first responders and search and rescue teams. Many of the calls coming into emergency dispatch involve people looking for family members. Other want to know when it will be safe to return to homes that may are may not be there. Pets are lost.
I pray that the God of all Comfort will be to those so terribly impacted what that beeswax candle was to me.. a symbol of light and protection.