Upside Down

Daddy jumped off the horse drawn sled before it came to a stop. “It’s a tornado,” he yelled. We unharnessed the horse, Oscar, and let him run.

I could see the funnel cloud then and though it looked far away, the wind was already there. It grew stronger and whipped around me.

As I leaned into the deafening wind I heard Daddy say, “Berta, tighten the ropes on this side of the tent! We can’t lose it!” He went to the far side and I started on my side. Rope after rope I released the lock and pulled the rope as tight as I could by hanging on it and relocked each one.

I was on the last rope when the tornado hit. It lifted me off the ground and turned me upside down. As I held on to the rope I screamed, “Daddy!”

No one could hear me. I couldn’t even hear myself.

Then, just as gently as the wind had picked me up, it set my feet on solid ground. When the roar ended, my legs buckled.

“Berta, you OK?” Daddy asked. I didn’t think he would ever believe what happened, so I just said, “Yes.”

We had only been living in the bottoms a couple of months and every day brought a new experience. The Army surplus tent, where we stored all our essential tools and supplies, only had two tears in the top. One on my side and one on daddy’s.

When I remember being upside down that spring day so long ago, I feel peace. I cried out for my daddy and God responded.

I didn’t know God then, but He knew me. After many years in Christ, I learned a lesson from this scene. Even back then, my heavenly Father had a plan for my life. He heard my cry and saved me.

God has allowed many trials in my life and many people to help me through them.

Praise be to God!

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2 NIV).

“He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:2 NIV).

 “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism’” (Acts 10:34, NIV).

In Christ,

Berta

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