I was in college and I got a call from my friend very early on a Sunday morning asking if my parents were alright. I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I learned that a huge tornado had struck my hometown. I called around and eventually found out that my home had been directly hit and destroyed. By God’s grace, my parents had escaped the house with just some scratches and bruises, but could have very easily died.
I had to preach that morning at a church. I went and did it, but was a little stunned. I came back to the campus and finally got to talk to my parents. If I remember correctly, it must have been around Thanksgiving or something because I think we had Thursday and Friday off of classes.
I stayed at college and didn’t go home until Monday night or Tuesday morning (I don’t remember which one).
What a dumb move.
Why? Who knows. Maybe I was nervous about a paper I needed to finish. Maybe I didn’t want to miss too many classes. Maybe my parents said don’t worry about it right now.
That was dumb and one of my top regrets. I nearly lost my parents and I was worried about skipping a class? Dumb. Don’t do that.
If your friends or family are in crisis, you should leave what you are doing immediately and go be with them. I should have preached the sermon, packed up my things, and went down there immediately.