When Lightning Strikes

Sometimes, like lightning, life can hit you in an instance and at high voltage.

I thought of this as I sat in the dark watching the summer lightning streak across the cloud filled skies over the Straits of Juan De Fuca that divide the mainland of the Olympic Peninsula and the Island of Vancouver with my Dad who is battling a uphill fight against cancer, faces his sixty-third birthday this week, and possible his last.

The vision of the lightning storm came to me again this morning while I prayed for my friend who found out two weeks ago that her husband has stage four cancer, and for another friend and pastor’s wife who had her second mastectomy this week. It came to me as I prayed for broken marriages; my friend who found out her husband was having an affair, and another whose partner had drained their bank accounts dry.

The same vision came to me as I praised God in celebration of a friend who got a much needed job,

for smiling new-born babies with bright futures, and medical reports of cancer remission.

I believe that there is something precious to be gained in the moments when lightning strikes. We do not have to stand in shock, whether broken or rejoicing, only existing in the wreckage or the glory of what has happened to us. We have the opportunity to change through awareness of what we believe and to be thankful for even the smallest glimmer of light or magnificent show of God’s blessings.

The question is this: Will we take the time to examine the deep places within us that need to change when lightning strikes?