"I cannot remember what life was like through photographs; trying to recreate images life gives us from our past..."

"...sometimes it's a sad song."

I gotten out some since the storm came through. In some ways I needed to see things. I needed to know why friends, family, and strangers are in so much pain in so many ways. I needed to know how extremely lucky I was that the tornado changed directions when it did. It was coming right at the church, but turned about a mile, maybe a little more, before it got here. In some ways I needed to see the damage. In some ways I wish I hadn't.

I find what most hurts me now and over the past few weeks is the hurt I see in people's eyes, especially my friends. I see the hurt of ten years worth of change that happened in a few hours; like you moved and then came back and things changed. But nobody moved away. I feel the pain that people have, whether they talk about it or not. I see the hurt and feel the pain that they just want to go away.It's with them every time they come in the church. And in a way I glad for that. Not that the pain is there, but for most people who come in here, they can show that hurting and hopefully begin to let it go and continue to let it go until it's gone. I hope all churches can be like that for people, no matter the denomination.

I hear people say that for some things the pain never goes away - the sudden death of a close friend or family member, natural disasters, abuse. For me, this is no so much the case. For me, the pain yields to scars, scars like the ones on my legs or hands. They no longer hurt, but every time I see the scar I am reminded of why it's there - how it got there, how it shaped me. Everyone has scars whether we see them or not. And every scar has a story to tell.

"And mama I’ve been cryin’ cause things ain’t how they used to be. She said the battle's almost won, and we're only seven miles from the sun."