Insights & Information

Master of the storm

tree across David Perkins cars

The Perkins family lost both of their cars in the June 10 storm.

The thunder cracked ever-louder so David Perkins shared one of the same stories with his daughter, Kyley, that his own mother had calmed his fears with during thunderstorms.

The story’s point—that God is Lord of all, including the weather—would soon take on special meaning. With hail pounding the front of Perkins’s house, the thunder cracked and the lightning flashed for a third time 10:30 p.m. June 10.

The Miami Heat’s game against the San Antonio Spurs disappeared from the screen as the room went dark for nearly a minute. Then the lights returned. Five minutes later, Perkins’s son, Logan, and wife, Heather, alerted him to the steady blare of a car alarm outside.

The family, including Perkins’s other daughter, Maura, who was watching a different program with Heather in their bedroom, soon learned the source: a large maple tree had fallen across both family cars (a Chevrolet Suburban SUV and Pontiac Montana van) and totaled them both.

The massive tree and story put Perkins before the WXII-TV cameras the next day, and has since underscored a point he’s made often to his family and to audiences of Revelation—the gospel group at Triad he leads and sings tenor for. It’s the same message of a gospel song Perkins knows well.

Titled, ’Till the storm passes by, the song includes this line: “Neath the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry. Keep me safe, ’till the storm passes by.”

David Perkins

Perkins

“There’s no damage to the house at all,” Perkins said. “We were all home, and it could have been so much worse if that maple tree had fallen in a different direction. It was flush with the ground, snapped off at the base, and no roots came up.

“I feel like God had his hands over the top of the house protecting us,” Perkins said. “I told my kids, ‘Stuff can be replaced but none of us can be replaced. Cars are just stuff.’ We still have each other and, most importantly, still have Jesus Christ.”

And a lot of friends.

Since WXII and social media shared their story, everyone from Perkins’s landlord to several Triad members have reached out. From offering him the keys to their own family cars or money to pay for a rental so the family could still take an upcoming vacation, Perkins has been overwhelmed with the compassion.

“It makes you feel good when you realize people love and care for you and when so many have the attitude, ‘We are going to do what we have got to do to help you get through it,’ and you can tell they really mean it.”

Kyley Perkins on one of several downed trees around the family’s home

Kyley Perkins on one of several downed trees around the family’s home.

The insurance adjuster already has begun work on the claim and Perkins is waiting to learn the settlement amount so he can find replacements. In the meantime, the family is using its rental-car benefit to get to and from work.

As for the vacation, Perkins said his girls surprised him by tell him that, “They didn’t care if we get to go anywhere as long as we can be together as a family.”

“When you hear things like that,” he said, “you feel like maybe you have pointed your kids in the right direction.”

Phase 2 Shot of TBC B&W 17

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