“The storm is passing over,” is a refrain from a powerful Black spiritual rooted in the Old Testament.  It is what came to mind as the powerful storms passed over Alabama, leaving many untouched while wreaking death and destruction to others.

The tornado that struck Greene and Tuscaloosa counties continued into Jefferson County, leaving death and destruction in its wake.  As powerful as Alabama’s governments are, they could not do a thing to stop this course of destruction and death.  The national government is even more powerful but it was helpless in the face of these powerful storms that unleashed deadly tornadoes. All we could do was hope and pray that the storms would pass over.

On Thursday, I joined in a statewide conference call set up by Governor Robert Bentley with EMA.  The death toll was 185 and rising.  The property toll was in the billions and increasing.  When I last checked, the death toll in Alabama was 236 with over 200 injuries. Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama was touched:  He traveled across the state assuring and reassuring our people.  President Barack Obama, was touched.  He flew into Alabama to assure and reassure.  They understood that our people need to know leaders are there for them at a time such as this.

We have no individual or collective power to stop or start such storms.  Our governments have no power to prevent such storms.  The power to start and stop storms lies entirely with God.  But we and our governments do have the power to be there for the living that lost loved ones, homes, businesses, and other property.  We must come together across lines of differences to protect, to lift, to help in every way we can.

The storms passed over my home and other homes without any lives or properties lost in Dallas County.  We will never forget that the storms took at least 236 lives in Alabama.  We must also remember that the storms passed over 4 ½ million lives, millions of homes and other properties.  However, the pain of death and destruction did not pass over us.  We felt the pain in our hearts and minds and spirits.  But we will be alright because we are a strong people, a resilient people.  We will rebuild our lives, our homes, our businesses, our hopes, our dreams.

In time, we will triumph over the most powerful tornadoes to ever set wind in Alabama.