POWER!!!

Last night we got a brutal storm blow through the area. The day started out fairly decent with a nice breeze and only a little humidity but by 3 the air was so thick it was hard to breathe. At 4 you could hear the rain clouds begin to roll in and by 5:30pm it was pouring down rain. As it got closer to 6 you could hear how close to the middle of the storm we were as the thunder got louder and louder and the lightning got brighter and brighter; the dog began to creep closer and closer to my leg and small whimpers began to escape his lips.

Before the rain had started Brandon had went out to light the grill and get dinner cooking. With plans to be out there for only a short while he didn't let the rain deter him from cooking his dinner. Around 6 lightning struck a tree about 30 feet from the house. Never having experienced a lightning strike so closely before I jumped as the house flooded with light and sound. The windows and doors shook in there place and the ground vibrated from the sheer power of the strike. The sound and vibrations only lasted probably a second but felt like 10 minutes. I probably came about 2 inches off the ground with my head ducked and my arms tucked close to my chest. Tiko instantly took off running for the hills and the look of sheer terror on his face as his eyes became the size of dinner plates caused a laugh to billow up out of me almost as loud as the thunder.

Once it calmed, I asked Brandon if anything had been hit both of us praying it wasn't the house. Two houses down a tree stood completely up right but had been split right down the middle. The top of tree was laying on our neighbors roof but at least no one was hurt. As we gawked and thanked God for the blessing that it hadn't hit anyone's house a second strike hit with in 50 feet of the house. It hit a tree on the street behind us and this time I got to see it. Again the house was flooded with sound and light and the dog took off running, hehe. The light was so bright I found myself turning away shielding my eyes from the power of it. Brandon had stepped outside and was at the grill for the second strike. He grabbed the food off the grill, turned it off, and quickly made his way inside. Immediately I unplugged the TV and turned off the computer and any unnecessary lights. Almost at once I began to pray for safety and began thanking God for the blessing that Jagoe had cleared all the trees in the lot next to us the day before.

After the second close lightning strike the storm calmed and we sat and ate our dinner while watching it rain wondering what would happen next. We simply sat in silence and in awe of what had just happened.