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My home state is covered with devastation. Moore is receiving much of the attention but there are towns all over Oklahoma that will forever be changed by tornadoes that ripped through the landscape of their lives.

I've been amazed by the outpouring of compassion I've seen on Twitter, from religious leaders to actors, everyone seems to be touched by this natural disaster. I've purposely tried not to take in too much information on it, focusing my attention on praying for the victims. But this morning as I got ready for work, I saw an interview with a teacher who used her body to shield her students from the destruction brought by the twister. She was lying in a hospital bed, lacerations all over her body and her neck in a brace, describing what it was like as the school came down around her. She laid in the rubble, waiting for help, clutching one of her third-grade students, who was telling her he didn't want to die. He did not die but when help finally came, she found out that seven of her students didn't survive the storm.

I can't imagine the heartbreak this woman must be feeling. The reporter interviewing her said, "You have to know that you did everything you could" and even though the woman answered yes to the question, my heart ached thinking about the days of healing, both physically and emotionally, ahead for her.

I can't imagine the sorrow of the parents who took their kids to school that morning and will never hold them again.

Please pray for Oklahoma. For our parents, grandparents, and loved ones. For our teachers who protected their students. For our first-responders who reached the nine children who died in the storm. For everyone who is suffering today and the days ahead.


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