It’s so easy for us to see news of a tragic event, read a headline, watch a news clip, shake our heads about how sad it is.
It’s so easy, and we do it so often, that only a few minutes later, we’ve forgotten about it as something else comes along to grab our attention.
Stories from even just a few days ago are already ancient history while most of us turn our attention to our various Christmas plans.
For the people whose story those headlines and news clips represent, moving on isn’t quite so easily done.
It’s easy for us to decorate our homes for Christmas. They haven’t been ripped apart by a tornado.
Not everyone is so fortunate.
You may have read about this story:
About 250 Army families at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, were displaced after tornadoes and other severe weather ravaged the area over the weekend, a service spokesperson said on Sunday.
The tornadoes that touched down Saturday caused major destruction, knocking out the power grid, leveling entire neighborhoods and forcing thousands of Tennesseans from their homes. The damage was especially severe in Clarksville, the town outside of the base, where a 150-mph tornado touched down.
As of Monday morning, there were no reported fatalities among Fort Campbell personnel or their families. One civilian associated with the base was injured, but it was not immediately clear if that was a civilian worker for a family member. Roughly 1,100 Fort Campbell soldiers and family members were without critical services such as water, heat or electricity, and those utilities could take a week or longer to repair, according to a spokesperson.
The base, which is home to the 101st Airborne Division, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and 5th Special Forces Group, sits at the Tennessee-Kentucky border. — Military
The GOOD news in this story is that one group of people isn’t merely shaking their heads and talking about what a sad situation it is. They are taking direct action to BECOME the Christmas Miracle these hurting families need.
It’s a big job and they could use some help.
There are three ways you can play a role.
- You can participate in meeting the need directly. [Insert Captain Obvious reference here.] We’ll come back to what direct assistance looks like
- You can share this story with other people. Even if you don’t find yourself in a position to help meet these needs at the moment, someone else you know may be looking for a way to be a blessing to people with a real need.
- Those of you who pray can lift up those in need, those giving aid, and even those who are sharing these stories with others in prayer.
The plan for help will mean far more if we have some sense of how serious the problem we are trying to solve really looks.
Here is some drone footage:
Tornado Damage from the Dec 9/10 storms that hit in & around Ft. Campbell pic.twitter.com/rryNjqaiUZ
— Wes Walker (@Republicanuck) December 14, 2023
And some photos:
A friend of ClashDaily who comes from the area sent us the photos and video we’ve posted here.
The following message came with those images:
As you have heard by now my neighborhood and community was devastated by a Tornado. In our town 750 people’s homes were catastrophically damaged and now uninhabitable (most are active duty military serving at Ft. Campbell). We are trying to raise a million dollars to ease the financial burden during Christmas till insurance kicks in. I am not necessarily asking for money, but for each of you to use your sphere of influence and help these families out. The pictures and video are from our neighborhood.
Here is the disaster relief website he is directing people to visit. The relief is being organized by a local church from that same community.
For those who can help, we thank you.
For those who can’t, there are still two other ways you can do your part to help make this Christmas Miracle happen.
However you decide to help, we’re grateful for it.