The downtown area of Mayfield is completely gone. Blocks and blocks of nothing but rubble. The old brick buildings 4-5 stories high are now flattened. There are no freestanding buildings. This was an old and deeply valued town. A lady who has lived there all her life, her grandfather was a local pastor for 48 years, told John, “As I walk through what is left of my town, it is like a devastating death. This town will never be the same again. It’s like when someone dear to you dies, you just try to get through the next day.” For many people, this is sorrow upon sorrow. One of the residents deeply affected by the tornado’s destruction was already heartbroken. In December of 2020, just one year prior, his mother died of COVID, and his daughter was murdered that same month. The local librarian’s family home was very damaged. The library was still able to open, however, and this lady courageously and unselfishly went every day to keep the library open and read to and talk to children. She considered it “doing what she could.”
Read MoreIf you ask anyone over 50 years old, they will fondly tell you, of their yearly pilgrimage to downtown Akron to see the Nativity set and the Christmas display windows at both O’Neil’s and Polsky’s department stores. Some will remember what seemed like a whole floor of both of these stores being designated as North Pole Akron. The nativity set had its place of prominence displayed on the marquee on the facing of the O’Neil’s store. Driving down S. Main Street it could be seen by everyone. It was a magical time of the year and in Akron’s history.
Read MoreWhen I was in elementary school my parents got divorced. It was really hard because I was so young. I didn’t understand what was going on.
After their divorce, I would go to church on Sunday mornings out of obligation, not because I wanted to.
Read MoreI have no family relationships in my life and it's tough. But the quality of the relationships I have with my Cornerstone Church is much greater than just that...they are my family.
Read MoreHEALING & OVERCOMING
God had his hand in our situation all along. I say He put the butterflies in my life long ago, knowing they’d flutter again many years later. I believe that with Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, we will overcome any obstacles that enter our path.
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