The Day My Family Prepared to Die

This is a picture of my family the day we prepared to die. 
It was 8 in the morning and I was ecstatic because we would actually show up on time to an event. With 2 boys under 4. And my hair wasn’t in a messy Mom bun. That’s a huge victory by most moms’ standards. I hear my phone alert and am irritated by the blaring sound & what I expected to be yet another “Flash Flood Warning” that had never resulted in anything before. Even reading “ballistic missile yada yada” felt like slow motion until I read “THIS IS NOT A DRILL”.
I rushed around the house aimlessly knowing I should be doing something but not knowing what on earth I could do to protect my family from an incoming missile. First thing I always do when I don’t know what to do-call my dad. 

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​It’s a funny sense of peace that sometimes accompanies helplessness. Trying not to panic because Dad was so calm I told them I loved them and if anything happened I would try to make it to their house eventually. 
What else to do but pray. I gathered my boys and their dad to our couch and asked God to save us. I pleaded with God to protect our island and rescue us. I’m sure I repeated it, begged it, I wasn’t quite ready for our story to end yet. 
It was odd how content I felt knowing that should our entire world end in a few minutes, I wouldn’t want it to end any other way. I was in my sanctuary with my beloved children and let my parents know I loved them. There was nothing else I needed to do before I met my maker. 

Ha’a was going to head to the store for canned goods when we got the message it was a false alarm and we were safe. My initial reaction was anger for having to experience such a crazy level of stress. Then relief. We spent the day with family celebrating the marriage of my nephew. And being alive. What I will take with me most of all from that Saturday was the comfort knowing I didn’t have to worry about dying. Because when your soul is saved and you’re facing your last moments, I rest assured that I knew where my family and I would end up. So having the rest of my life to spend is really an extra bonus now.