The wind whipped up, thunder cracked, rain dumped down in torrents, and the ominously dark sky lit up with flashes. And then—KBAANG!
A blinding blue flash. The lights went black. Objects shot across the room and smacked the walls. My heart jolted and I dropped to my knees, sure the windows had blown out. Thank God they hadn’t.
Helen and the boys were in our home, a few hundred feet away. She said the whole building shook, raining a fine layer of dust down from between the ceiling boards.
The next day, an electrician stopped by to assess the damage.
Blackened switches (fire shot out of them). Blown off light covers. Fried appliances, wifi, e-bikes, car chargers, AC systems, etc.
But the most concerning piece seems to be our wiring. A strike like that can melt insulation and compromise everything, turning a home into to a fire hazard. And because our humble home (built with ~$20k of salvaged materials by teenagers 25 years ago) has no attic or crawl space, rewiring means tearing into every single wall and ceiling.
“Probably $100,000 of damage,” the electrician told me.
I cancelled my work trip I’d been planning to New York early the next morning. I needed to be with my family to figure this out.
We’ve started the insurance process. It’s all still up in the air.
Then two days later, we got hail. I was on the road, and there was nowhere to go. Our car took a good beating, and has the scars to prove it.
To top it off, my eyes—still healing from PRK surgery—began throbbing badly.
It hasn’t been an easy week, and one evening, I came home feeling pretty defeated.
As I stepped in the door, our 2-year-old Lucas ran up to me, arms open and with a huge grin and shouted, “Dada, I want you!”
Everything melted away.
That is hospitality—no effort, no agenda, no performance. Just pure, joyful welcome.
No training or technique. Just love—made visible through small, genuine gestures. And somehow, little children seem to understand that better than most of us. I believe there’s a lesson there.
I’m grateful for the many blessings in my life. Especially the simple things.
That’s all for today. May your week be wonderful, and full of small joys!
