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Sometimes you have to bring a little humanity to your job.
That is what happened with Matt Laubhan, a meteorologist in Mississippi during a recent broadcast in which his updated tornado tracker showed a tornado bearing down on a small town.
In the clip below, Laubhan gets an updated live radar of the tornado he had been discussing and then folds over, putting his elbow on the table in sadness.
He then said a short prayer before getting right back to the report.
“Dear Jesus, please help them. Amen”
The tornado, he goes on to say, was tracking farther East than anticipated and would hit the town of Amory within the minute.
\u201cWatch: Local TV weatherman says prayer live on air as huge tornado sweeps through Mississippi. \ud83d\ude4f #mswx #Mississippi #Amory #Breaking\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
Since this aired, people praised Laubhan as a great meteorologist.
\u201c@TVNewsNow @ajsg Matt is a great meteorologist who really cares about the people of Mississippi.\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
People were moved by his show of raw humanity in taking the moment to send up s short prayer.
Even those who don’t believe in prayer were impressed by his empathy and compassion.
\u201c@TVNewsNow Not religious, but I can appreciate his sincere prayer for the people of his state. He's not getting a jet or tithes, or lobbying for school prayer. He's scared for his neighbors. If you don't get that, just scroll on.\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
\u201c@TVNewsNow I\u2019m not religious but that was authentic not performative, and I can appreciate that for him that was a gesture of love in an emotional moment. Also he didn\u2019t go on there intending to shove religion down viewers throats, it just happened. I can accept the humanness of that.\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
\u201c@ehCECP @TVNewsNow Well said\n\nI'm an atheist who dislikes overt religious displays. This wasn't that, it was his instinctive reaction to an immediate threat to the lives & livelihoods of the people in that town. Shared humanity & such.\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
Others commented on how visibly the knowledge of the new path of the tornado affected him.
\u201c@TVNewsNow My man at that moment realizes people have just perished.\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
Some commented we have more to pray for.
\u201c@TVNewsNow Prayers we start DOING something IMMEDIATELY about climate change. Putting it off for the past 40yrs hasn't worked\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
\u201c@TVNewsNow What else could he do? He's literally watching people in harm's way.\u201d— TV News Now (@TV News Now) 1679719113
While Laubhan already had the trust of Mississippi’s populace, he now has their hearts.
In a time when some very vocal Christians are giving their faith a reputation of having a lack of compassion and empathy but an abundance of hate, Laubhan's sincere entreaty felt particularly poignant and pure.