It was the beginning of an hour-long lightning storm more intense than any I had ever witnessed while living here in Tampa Bay, the lightning capital of the United States.
My kids were a little nervous, so I told them that, when I was a child, I would turn off the lights, open the window blinds and watch the storms as they went through my neighborhood.The kids liked the idea so I plopped down on the couch, Gabe hunkered down on the floor and Dorothea reclined in a comfy chair while we took in God's light show.
It was an amazing thing to see. For 60 solid minutes the sky was never dark, not even for a second. There was strike after strike after strike and heat lightning crackled across the sky from cloud to cloud.
The only way I can effectively describe it is as if you were watching a fluorescent bulb flickering across the sky with occasional blasts of bright, white light and roaring thunder.
We watched our neighbors roof as it strobed back lit from the lightning in the distance and flashed white with lightning behind us.
Like watching a firework display, the kids and I marveled at the extent and intensity of the storm. We just kept expecting the storm to pass, the lightning to subside, but it continued non-stop, more than one lightning strike per second for over 60 minutes.
We were fortunate to have seats next to the storm and not be stuck in the middle of it. The brunt of the storm moved west of our location so we simply laid back and watch in awe at the amazing power unleashed by God's nature.
The kids and I joked and laughed and watched in disbelief as our dark living room flickered with the light display pulsing around our house. It made us realize how powerful God can be and how powerless we are in such situations.
It was one of those nights that we'll never forget.
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