In the midst of tragedy’s fallout, I feel like my own words are useless. How do I take this language I grew up speaking and use it to describe the horrifying powerlessness victims experience in the face of natural disaster? Nothing I say will raise the flattened buildings, bring the dead back to life.

And I don’t understand the devastation. I live nowhere near the path of the tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, yet I feel a spike of terrified awe as I read about the two-mile wide twister. I cannot bring myself to view footage of the storm, and I cry with each new development I read.

There are parents who still do not know if their children are dead or alive. I cannot fathom their anguish. I cannot imagine having everything taken from me in one day’s time, and my heart grieves for those who have lost so much this week.

I am reminded of a friend’s response to the bombings at the Boston Marathon–I don’t understand. Lacking the words for an original prayer, I offer this: Kyrie, eleison.

Lord, have mercy.

If you are looking for ways to help the victims of Monday’s tornado, please go here.