Couple says they’re thankful to be alive after tree falls on home

LAMAR COUNTY, Alabama. (WCBI) – ‪ A Lamar County, Alabama couple was thankful to be alive after Thursday’s storms left behind a trail of destruction.

Michelle Jones and her husband Jeff moved into their new home at the beginning of the month.

Jones said she was lying in her bed just moments before the storms came through.

“I’m just thankful to God because I was laying right where this tree just fell just minutes before it happened,” said Jones, who’s still heartbroken after losing her home.

She’s talking about this enormous tree that was uprooted fell on top of her home.

As the storm was getting closer, without thinking, Jones got out of the bed and went to the back room not knowing what was about to happen.

“I had just got up to go check on my husband in the bedroom because I was laying in the living room,” Jones recalled. “When I got up, the power went out, limbs fell on the trailer and all I had time to say was Jeff I’m scared. We heard a small boom, and then a big boom. We walked down the hallway and we saw the tree right here.”

What the couple saw was a disheartening sight. A sight Jones said she’ll never forget.

“At first I was kind of worried about my stuff,” she explained. “I said my stuff, my china cabinet, my TV, but then my husband looked over at me and he said just be glad that we’re not taking you to the morgue because you were just laying right there where that tree was sitting, right there where the tree is across your bed.”

It took the couple over a decade to move their first home, but only a matter of minutes for mother nature to rain on their parade.

“We just got settled in, I haven’t even unpacked boxes yet,” said Jones. “We lived in an apartment for 13 years so we finally had our own place.”

Though the home is a total loss, there was one item in the house it was never touched or damaged during the storm.

“I had an angel and a cross with some doves on it that was on top of my china cabinet,” Jones described. “The angel had fell but the cross with the doves were still standing on top of the china cabinet.”

The Alabama native said she’s always been a woman of strong faith.

However, after this storm, her faith has gotten stronger and now she’s more appreciative of everyday life.

“God is awesome,” Jones expressed. “God is good and he’s the reason why I’m standing here right now.”

Jones said they do plan to rebuild, but for right now, they’re going to stay with family members until they can get back on their feet.