In The Midst Of A Storm
Ann W. Williams, Hyattsville, MD
Catagory: Volume 4, Issue 1 and 2
On September 24, 2001, at approximately 5:15 p.m., my family and I were riding in my car going from West Hyattsville, Maryland on our way to an appointment in Greenbelt, Maryland. We traveled on University Boulevard past the University of Maryland in College Park. It was raining, as it had been raining all day.
We had just passed the University’s residential housing when the rain started to come down a little harder and the traffic started to slow down and begin to backup. We realized by now that we were in the midst of a severe storm.
My daughter Shelley asked us if anyone in the car had a window down. My oldest grandson Aron, and I replied, “No”. I asked her why and she replied “I can hear a whistling sound”. However, neither Aron nor I could hear it.
As we watched, the sky became darker and the rain came down heavier. As I was observing the trees next to the curb lane bending almost in half as the wind blew harder and harder, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. Next I told Shelley, what the Holy Spirit had said: “Move the car from the curb lane to the center lane”. Just then Aron said, “Grandma, look at how those telephone poles are shaking.” When I began to focus on them, it seemed as though invisible, angry hands were violently shaking the poles as if trying to uproot them from the ground. We heard a huge thump on the roof of the car, and then a minute or so later, a large tree branch rolled up the front windshield over the roof of the car.
All of a sudden, tree branches, dirt, and the orange barriers used during road construction started flying all over the road. I could see cars being pushed by the wind into other cars. The whole scene seemed surreal.
Suddenly, lightening struck a telephone transformer. A ball of fire traveled down the telephone lines and through the trees. We could see trees falling all around us and even on someone’s car in the intersection.
At some point during all of this, Shelley had put the car in park and turned off the engine. Aron and I said simultaneously, “I can feel the wind under the car, and it’s being lifted up off the ground.”
I looked to my left and I saw tiles being blown off the roofs of the student housing complex. And when I looked above the roofs, I saw the funnel cloud of the tornado.
At first my flesh took over and I became very scared. Then all of a sudden, I could hear the Holy Spirit begin to speak to me. He was saying, “Call on the name of Jesus”. I began to say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”, and then I told my family to look away from the windows, join hands and begin to pray.
We all began to pray, even Andrew, my four-year old grandson. I am an intercessory prayer warrior. I prayed like I’ve never prayed before reaching a new level of prayer. I could hear my voice grow from a trembling whisper to a loud rushing sound (in a deep, strong voice I’ve never used or heard before). As I prayed for safety and calm, I could see by the Spirit a dome of protection being put around my family and me IN THE MIDST OF THAT FIERCE TORNADO.
After the tornado had moved on and we were finally able to drive through traffic, we began our trip home. The wreckage and destruction I witnessed that day was like none I’d ever seen before. There were wrecked vehicles all over the road. We saw people who were injured. Trees were down and the road was a virtual maze of fallen debris. Even in the midst of all this, I was still praying and praising God for what He had down to bring us out of the storm. I could still hear the Holy Spirit giving directions as to which way to drive back home. All the while I was praising God and so full of joy I could not contain myself.
All of a sudden I screamed, burst out crying, and began to praise God on an even higher level. I must have startled my family when I screamed, because I could hear Andrew ask why I was crying. All I could say was, “Grandma is still praising the Lord.” I told my family that the Holy Spirit had brought back to my memory something I had forgotten.
I keep a prayer journal. When we returned home after the tornado, I immediately went to my prayer/dream journal and began to read what I had written and then I showed it to Shelley. I called my son, Doc and his fiancée, Tenecia and shared with them what had happened. We began to praise the Lord together. I told my daughter and my grandsons to never forget what we had just come through because it was symbolic of what God would do for them throughout their lives as they would go through life’s storms.
Now I share with you what the Holy Spirit brought back to my remembrance: Dream, July19, 1995 – I am in the living room of the house where I grew up. Other family members are there with me. Outside, it becomes dark and windy. A severe but brief storm (tornado) arises. We are sitting on the floor in a circle. I can see the gold colored fabric on the easy chair where my father used to sit. I know that he is there in spirit.
You see, my dad passed away May3, 1987. In the dream I think to myself, “Dad died. So I know he’s not here, but I know my Heavenly Father is here with us during this storm.” While sitting on the floor, my family and I join hands. I begin to pray for safety and protection. I feel calm and secure. Praise God, I will survive future storms as I am led by the Holy Spirit.
In the midst of my prayers, God had given me spiritual authority over the storm (tornado).
