What the Storm Brought Last Night

Boy was that a storm last night!

Around 7:30pm, we noticed the darkening of the sky. I knew there was a chance of storms, so I decided to check weather.com to see what was heading our way. The radar showed a nice, long storm system moving across the state of Ohio, right along I-70. It was just reaching the west side of Columbus & stretched all the way to the OH/IN border. We were in for quite a storm!

The Prophet happened to notice a spider outside our kitchen window moving quickly & acting differently. I saw another in our patio door, also acting peculiar. After watching for a few minutes, I realized it was rapidly taking its web down, as the wind was picking up. I looked at the other & it was doing the same thing. These two spiders were using their spider sense & intuition to protect their homes from the approaching storm.

The munchkins had already eaten their bedtime snack, brushed their teeth, & were settling down for reading time. They are not terrified by storms, but they did want me to sit near them instead of doing household stuff. I stopped what I was doing & joined them in the living room. Why not have a reading time for all of us?

...Because the power went out!

Not five minutes after I'd sat down, there was a bright flash of lightning, a crash of thunder, the power flickered, then out it went.

We didn't want to light candles due to the heat & wanted to keep the flashlights until we really needed them, but thankfully there was still light outside. Also, The Princess has a battery operated light up angel that gives off a good bit of light, so we also used that...until The Saint confiscated it for himself, running around w/ this "lightsaber angel." (Yes, he is all boy & a Star Wars fan, esp. Star Wars weapons!)

So, what did we do to pass the time while the power was out?

Because the lightning was so incredible, The Princess & I went upstairs to watch from the boys' bedroom window. Huge bolts of lightning streaked through the sky constantly. It was a magnificent light show while the thunder rumbled non-stop, sometimes loud enough that the house shuttered.

When we came back downstairs, all of us gathered around the kitchen table, holding hands to say our bedtime prayers. We changed them slightly to allow everyone a chance to offer their own intentions. The munchkins really liked this change & had some wonderful, heartfelt prayer requests.

The Prophet & I enjoyed a nice mother & son chat afterwards. He had some questions regarding some words he'd (very unfortunately) heard from neighborhood kids. We talked about some of their meanings (not all because he's WAY TOO young to know their definitions) & why they should not be repeated or used in any context.

The Archangel just wandered around the house. He did play The Prophet's DS game system for a bit, but not for long. He was very tired, but knew he couldn't sleep w/ the storm raging outside. All the while, The Saint continued waving the angel around...perhaps this was his was of keeping us protected!

The spiders returned & began to weave new webs around 9:30, so we knew the storm was dying down. Not knowing how long the power would be out, we decided to make up beds on the living room floor for the munchkins. I opened up & spread two outdoor sleeping bags on the floor, the outer side up because it's cooler than the flannel side.

The munchkins were still a bit wound up, so I started singing to them...Be Not Afraid & Like a Shepherd. The Saint just didn't want to sleep, so I figured I'd just take him up to sleep in our bed. As I was preparing to go up, the power returned (about 10pm). I've never seen the munchkins move so fast to get upstairs to bed, each one thanking Jesus all the way up the stairs! Within 15 minutes all but one were asleep...& he soon followed!

The lightning had changed by this time. It was now behind the clouds...no bolts, just beautiful flashes silhouetting the clouds. As I stood in the boys' bedroom window watching this gorgeous display of light, I couldn't help but think of how wonderful our God is. Through this storm that had just passed, he brought much needed rain to water the earth, a lesson in survival through watching the spiders, & a show of light that was much better than any TV show or video game! He gave us a chance to enjoy each other's company w/out any distractions...and there was no bickering! The power was only out for about two hours, but I could easily have handled much longer...esp. if it meant more time w/ my dear family in such a peaceful way.