I have never been so frightened while driving I don't think.

But faith, love, and a whole ton of prayers work miracles.

The water kept pounding the windshield and I kept cruising along thinking any time it would lighten up, and yet there seemed to be no end in sight...

Then over the radio waves in the middle of a song that emergency beep came on and listed all the counties where severe thunderstorms were happening. It was a long list! I didn't know what county I was in, but it seemed the list covered most of Georgia! I kept driving hoping to move through the storm.

The beep came on again and this time with a tornado warning, the rain was pounding the windshield so hard that I could barely see a thing, then cars and trucks would drive past and an ocean wave would hit the windshield. It was blind faith. I took the next exit, as I came to the end of the ramp, there was nothing there.

So slowly I made my way back on the freeway and got off at the next exit, this time there was a small barbecue restaurant that looked pretty packed and not a place to hang out if you weren't going to be having lunch, I turned around and got back on the freeway nervous as the rain kept pounding, I made it to the next exit, this time there were fueling stations and fast food places. I stopped in a Chik-Fil-A, when I grabbed my phone and wallet to go inside I noticed my phone had about four messages all from Emergency Weather Center about taking shelter because there was a tornado in the area.

I went inside and everyone there was doing the same thing, taking shelter and waiting out the storm. I have never been so happy to be inside. The manager knew the area well and was helping people figure out the way the storm was moving. I was able to get back on the road and start heading further south towards Tallahassee.

I pulled up in the driveway of my childhood friend, we grew up playing sports together since sixth grade and had been great friends from 8th grade throughout high school, but have not seen each other since we both left for college in the fall of 2002. Now her husband and their two and four year old sons stood in their lawn. I got out of the car and the boys ran inside to get their mom.

She came out and we greeted each other with a hug and a greeting that was very similar to some 15 years ago though she had a southern draw to her voice, it was like it was yesterday we last saw each other.

That night I had the honor of reading a book to her son as we tucked him in bed. As I was leaving the room he asked for a hug and kiss and it was like the whole day on the road, the tornadoes, the rain, the fear washed away.

I woke up the next morning thinking I was in her childhood home where many weekly sleep overs took place, except a moment later two small boys in their pajamas came through the door in the room I had slept in with books in their hands asking me to read them a story.