Storms

I love thunder and lightening storms. When I was a kid living in Washington, my brother, my father, and I would stand either on the front porch or on the deck and watch the lightening storms. My mom, who as a kid had their house hit by lightening, was not found of storms and was always trying to get us to come inside. She just didn't get it, the excitement and the charge that we got out of standing there watching it all. I guess watching your house burn from lightening as a kid could ruin the whole experience.

As I got older I was able to experience a thunder storm in my grandparents motor home as we traveled home from Tennesse. I believe we were in Kentucky and for the first time I understood a little bit of that fear that my mom had. This was not like the lightening storms we had at home. It was really cool! But it was really kinda scary too. But not a bad scary, more the kinda scary that makes you excited and thrilled and anxious all at once. Like a really good carnival ride. You know someone else is controlling the ride and you hope you don't puke on your shoes while he is spinning your car around. I knew that as I sat in the motor home that God was in control and that he wasn't going to let anything happen to me. I also knew that the thunder was really, really loud in Kentucky. The sound may have had something to do with the fact that we were traveling in a motor home in the 80's (can you say tin can on wheels). But it was much louder than in Washington and the lightening was much brighter and almost wilder. My mom who was also with us was white with fear and to this day I thank God I was young and didn't know enough to be afraid.

When my folks moved to Colorado I got the chance to experience storms there, again cool but different from either the Kentucky experience or the Washington experience. After moving to Chicago I really became found of the lightening storms there. We have had quite a few storms here in MT and to tell you the truth there is just something missing. I can't quite figure out why the storms here are different then they were in the Mid-West. I still love storms but they are not as spectacular. Maybe part of it is knowing that the threat of forest fire is so great here. But I still think it is just that the storms here are not as spectactular a sight as in Chicago. Somebody thought maybe that it might have something to do with elevation and the Mid West being lower in altitude, no mountains, etc... I dont know what the reason, I suspect God does. But as far as I know it's His secret and He aint telling.