Storms: Fear to Fascination

                                               

     As a child I dreaded storms.  It terrified me.  Looking back now I think maybe it was when the lights would go out that would terrify me more.  It seemed with every strong storm our lights would go out leaving us in the dark.  I would cry and be in such a fright that I could barely move.  I would freeze up.  When WNEM TV 5 out of Saginaw would interrupt a show forcasting a storm I would start to get nervous.  I ran around the house gathering up all the candles, batteries and flashlights and placing them on our coffee table.  My sister would grab blankets and pillows and have them ready in case a tornado was spotted and we had to make a mad dash downstairs to our creepy basement.  As much as I feared tornado's I think I feared our basement more.  It would be a hard decision on what I would rather had to deal with. 

     I remember hearing a story of how a tornado came across Saginaw and damaged the huge concrete blue whale at the Saginaw Children's Zoo.  I loved that whale.  At our cabin at Houghton Lake we would see boats that broke loose from their anchors or docks float on by.  Trees would bend and break.  My grandpa would drive us around afterward to survey the damage and to see if anyone needed help.  I even recall a time when a tornado has been spotted in Houghton Lake and we had to run across to our neighbors to take shelter.  As a child that can be scary. 

     One day I was reading a Highlights magazine.  In it was a poem from a child about how he looks at lightning storms as God's fireworks for us to enjoy.  That really hit me.  I loved fireworks.  How could storms be much different.  I was looking forward to the next lightning storm.  I don't remember how long I had to wait but I knew I would look at it differently.  I still gathered up the candles, batteries and flashlights for same measure.  

     From that point on I fell in love with the storms.  Each lightning strike was unique in its own way.  Even the thunder was interesting to listen to.  Some would start out with a low crackling sound and roar its way to a loud boom.  Some would give no warning before its blast that would shake the whole house.  Before I would know it I could hear the faint sounds of thunder fading away in the distance and the rain would slowly come to an end.  Even the power of the wind was amazing.  Trees that have been planted in the Earth for years can bend over in the sharp wind and some can even snap.  There is an awe about it.  Hail was a special treat because we didn't see that too often.  The fun part was when the storm was done my sibilings and I would dash outside and collect all the hail.  My mom would stick it in the freezer to save it for us.  I am sure she took it out when we stopped thinking about it. 

     It was a real treat when I was dating Brian and we would drive off to Saugatuck, Mi. and head to Oval Beach and watch the storms come in from across Lake Michigan.  The lightning would stretch out its fingers across the dark cloudy sky and light it up.  Some streaks would dip down and touch the lake.  It was a beautiful sight.  I find the storms so inspiring and peaceful.  

Picture by Wunderground.com  Lightning over Lake Michigan.

Photo by JessicAllen in the News Sun Times looking over Lake Michigan.

     Once we had children I wanted to pass my love of storms down to them.  They get excited when they see storm clouds coming.  We can see the storms coming in from the west.   At times, in our location, it seems as if the storms split in two and avoids teasingly.  Some of the dark clouds will dip south and heads towards Mt. Pleasant and other clouds will head north around the Cadillac area and persue east from there.  We can stand outside and hear the thunder booming around us while looking up and seeing blue skies.  

     One particular storm I remember where an F1 torando came across Osceola County knocking down trees to Spring Hill Camp.  The kids and I were expecting my mom, my sister and her children to swing by on their way from Houghton Lake.  She said the wind was so fierce on the highway that they had to pull over and go into a ditch while it poured rain and and hailed.  She was probably 15 miles from our house.  She gets to our house and looks down at our gravel driveway and noticed that it was completely dry.  My children were outside looking at the dark swirling clouds to the north and not very far away.  The storm missed us by a few miles. 

     Another time we just got chickens and put up a metal shed to turn that into the chicken coop.  No more than a month later a severe wind storm came across.  No rain, just wind.  Brian and I were watching TV when we looked out the picture window and see our shed breaking apart and blowing across the yard.  It was like seeing something out of the Wizard of Oz.  We ran outside to catch it.  A few of our older children came out also to help.  It took four of us to grab a hold of the roof that detached itself from the walls to pull it back to where we had our chicken coop set up.  Amazingly there wasn't a single chicken that was injured or killed during that event.   

     There is something, now, that draws me in to watching a good storm.  The smell in the air before the storm and after is refreshing.  You can't explain it but you know when that storm smell is in the air.  Maybe it's seeing God's force in nature that is amazing.  I am not sure.  But I do know that storms are a beauty in itself.