What Stands in a Storm: A True Story of Love and Resilience in the Worst Superstorm in History

by Kim Cross

In times of trouble, the things that tear our world apart reveal what holds us together.

The only way to confirm a tornado is for a human to lay eyes on it. This, in meteorology, is called ground truth. It is one of the most valuable tools meteorologists have today.

“Tornadoes have been observed on every continent and in every American state at every hour of the day and in every month of the

The burning question in everyone’s heart was Why? “You’ve got the wrong question,” he said. “It’s not ‘Why?’ because you will never get an answer at this time and place. It’s ‘What?’ What can we learn from this? How should we respond? What can we do to take this and turn it into something positive? It’s biblical, when something good comes out of bad things.”

One breath, one step, one day at a time. For some things in life, there is no way around—you have to go through them.

The stained-glass window watched over the pews and the altar, a sign of what stands in a storm.

And when everything else is stripped away, what stands is a truth as old as time: The things that tear our world apart reveal what holds us together.