Frank Jones could tell a storm was coming, so he rushed his evening chores, and even turned the horses out to pasture without feeding them first. He had barely gotten back into the house when his wife told him “There’s a cyclone coming.” She had seen it on the hill south of the Hoskin’s place. Mr. and Mrs. Jones gathered up their children and sheltered in the cave that they used as a storm cellar. They made it inside just as the funnel cloud passed over them. It was an F2 tornado that hit the Jones’ farm in Codell, Kansas on May 20, 1916.
Are you prepared to stand against the storm?
Now, it comes as no surprise to most people that a tornado would touch down in Kansas. The state ranks 2nd in the U.S. for average tornado frequency. What makes this particular storm noteworthy wasn’t the storm itself, but what was to come exactly one year later. On May 20, 1917, an F3 tornado touched down in Codell, wreaking even more destruction than the previous year’s storm.
Thus, the residents of Codell had some reason to be nervous on May 20, 1918. The weather was unseasonably cool, however, and though it was overcast, conditions were not ripe for a twister. Nevertheless, for the third year in a row on the very same date, a tornado hit the unfortunate town. This time it was an F4, the most powerful one yet, and it ran directly over the town, killing 10 people.
Codell never fully recovered from this last storm, but it is still around. Its residents will celebrate Cyclone Day again this year, as the have every year since the three consecutive years that they were stricken by tornadoes on May 20.
The odds of something like this happening are astronomical, but obviously not zero. As Lloyd said in Dumb and Dumber “There’s still a chance!”
Many times throughout our life we encounter things that we can’t explain, stuff that doesn’t fit easily into the preconceived notions that we’ve formed from our experience and education. Whenever that happens our first instinct is typically to try and cram it into a category that seems related and then forget about it. But what we really ought to do is to start asking questions, beginning with an evaluation of what we’ll accept as true. What kind of evidence do we require before we believe something to be true? Do we hold our beliefs and understandings on account of the evidence, or in spite of it?
An unsubstantiated belief is one that is likely to topple easily, so be sure to check the foundations of your beliefs before the storms of doubt come. You may not get three in a row like Codell did, but if you aren’t ready for it, it only takes one big one to blow you over.
LET US PRAY
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You set the earth on its foundations, so that it may never be shaken. How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all.
Almighty God, teach us how to place our beliefs and our faith upon a firm foundation, to ask the correct questions and honestly explore the evidence. Guide us by your Holy Spirit into all truth, which is the firmest foundation of all. For You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and it is to You we give thanksgiving and worship always, now and forever, and to the ages of ages.
AMEN
An Orthodox Priest Abroad 