After the storm: South Augusta

Gloria Williams has just started to be able to slow her tears.

Surviving a tornado April 10 that destroyed homes in her south Augusta neighborhood and left many residents, including her, homeless has left her with a ball of emotions.

"It's just a shock to your system," she said. "I kept asking myself what I'm crying about, but when you realize you could have been dead, that's traumatic."

The Barton Chapel Elementary guidance counselor opened the front door at her Barton Chapel Road apartment to watch the rain late that night. The soothing rain became a thunderous storm that colored the sky brown and rang loud like a freight train.

After taking cover in a hall closet, she emerged to find her apartment destroyed. She is now staying with a friend and said she hopes to move into a small house by the end of May.

"Today was the first time I thought, 'I am really homeless,' " she said. "This has all really made me have compassion for people. Any day your life and circumstances can change in a second."

Since the tornado, she has had little time to think about her next step. Last week, she busied herself with administering the Criteria Reference Competency Test to Barton Chapel Elementary pupils. This weekend, she went to her apartment and rummaged through some of her things. Her living room furniture and mattresses were beyond repair, but other items, such as clothes and dishes, were in storage.

She said she looks forward to having her own space again to watch Lifetime as she pleases and read her books in silence. Though it might be weeks until she gets that solace, she said the experience has been a blessing in disguise.

"All this means is that there's something new and better out there for me," she said. "That song Yes, Jesus Loves Me means more to me than it ever has. He does love me. He chose to save me."