Isn’t it funny how we change as we go through life?

When I was a kid, lightning didn’t bother me at all. What I really hated about a storm was the thunder. You see, I can’t stand sudden loud sounds. Seriously, they hurt me from the inside out. I won’t even pop a balloon. Worse than that are fireworks. I love watching them, but not hearing them.

On some Friday evenings, they used to have a fireworks show after a Smokies Baseball game. Each show had a different theme with music and fireworks choreographed together. As soon as they turned the lights off in the stadium, I would burrow my fingers down in my ears. As a child, I did the same during thunderstorms, except I also prayed for the scary and loud thunder to stop.

Then my fear switched the hard way.

I don’t know how old I was exactly. All I remember was being in high school. During one night, we had a lightning storm. I had never been in one of those before, and, to be honest, I don’t want to ever be in one again.

It was like something out of a bad dream or scary movie. Lightning was constantly striking around our house. I’m talking the bolts were hitting the ground every few seconds. At one point, I heard the loudest KaBoom that I’ve ever heard and our house shook. We thought it had been struck by lightning.

Immediately we checked around the house. We found nothing wrong. The next morning we found out that our neighbor’s house was the one that was struck when ours shook like it did.

Actually, the lightning didn’t strike the house directly. If it had, their house would’ve caught on fire. It struck the guttering on the corner. The end of it was curled up as if somebody had used a potato peeler on it.

There were two holes on each side of the concrete sidewalk where the lightning jumped it. And there was a straight rut left by the lightning that almost reached one of the trees in the front yard. Our neighbor said the whole house smelled like sulfur after the strike.

Needless to say, I was terrified of lightning for years after that. Then I realized that God is in control of where each and every lightning bolt strikes.

“Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?” Job 38:35 (KJV)

In fact, the power of the Lord’s creation is truly mind blowing. And best of all, He is in ultimate control of it. So, I no longer watch lightning with fear. I watch it with awe of the One who created it.

Now I like to take pictures of lightning while I’m in my car or from a window. Please don’t ever stand outside during a storm to take pictures. If you can hear thunder, you need to seek shelter immediately. And not under anything tall like a tree. My papaw lost a cow that way.

By the way, did you know the angel present in the tomb after Jesus was resurrected is described as being like lightning? How awesome is that?

“His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:” Matthew 28: 3-5 (KJV)