Storm Clouds … As darkness approached, the young lady—a senior at the University of Alabama—looked out at the ominous clouds forming across the horizon. All evening news reports had warned of possible tornado activity. As the clouds grew darker, Chelsey and her friends found that “safest place”—as some call the inner hallway—in her apartment. They told jokes to keep from showing their fear, and they waited. On campus and off , students and townspeople waited and watched—some even prayed. As the storm bore down on the sleepy university town, family groups and student groups alike found themselves huddled into whatever “safest place” could be found. One group of students found themselves crowded into an inner hallway. Laughing to cover their anxiety, they even convinced a couple of friends to get into a small linen closet to make room for others in the hallway. The lights flickered and went off . In the small linen closet, the darkness was exceeded only by the deafening noise and fierce, violent shaking. How can a few minutes last so long? The friends in the closet finally managed to uncover their ears, shaking themselves as they searched for the doorknob. They could see nothing as their minds tried to process all that had just happened. Their “ark of safety” had served them well. They opened the door. Indeed, they had unknowingly been inside an “ark of safety.” Their friends had crowded down next to the ark. But next to the ark is not the same as being in the ark. Stunned into disbelief, they looked … their friends were … RELIGION – SPIRITUALITY Truth Alive Ministries, Inc. P.O. Box 61581 Savannah, Georgia 31419