The article is a good example about how after a traumatic experience of pain and struggle, a Community of encouragement can help to rebuild life and bring a new

The article is a good example about how after a traumatic experience of pain and struggle, a Community of encouragement can help to rebuild life and bring a new hope. “You’re not an outsider here,” he said. The group conducted a survey in 2017 of 595 of its lightning strike members and found that 280 of them suffered from depression and 67 were suicidal. Steve Marshburn, the founder, has personally talked 27 people out of suicide. “God,” he said, “gives you strength to do what you got to do.” That is something we can all learn from this article: to welcome newcomers, give thanks, and ask for power from above. In summer 1989, a young foreign couple and their 3 year old son were hiking in the Alps. As often happens on beautiful, clear days there, the clouds began to roll in, and the rain started to pour down. Drenched and cold, they tried to walk back to the cable car, but were making slow progress because she was pregnant. They saw a fence, and some steps (a stile) to climb over it. Rather than continue, they chose to stop and rest for a minute. Holding each others' hands, they sat down. crack They lay face down in the mud. He heard a voice coming up the valley "You are mine." Later, they discovered these words in a religious text [1] and their lives were profoundly changed. They hobbled back to the cablecar in a daze, got down the mountain, and drove to a nearby hospital. She was worried because the baby hadn't kicked for a couple of hours. When the baby did kick again, it brought her great joy! And of course, some pain, because he was kicking. His burns took the shape of a tree, or fractal, quite similar to the lightning bolt. Just as the article says: The jolt can severely burn skin, and in some cases it etches an intricate web of scars on the body that resembles the form of a lightning bolt itself, known as Lichtenberg figures, which fade within days for reasons unknown. He continued his career as a software engineer at CERN. She was holding his hand so received a milder shock but no burns, and their 3 year old son appeared to be unharmed. The baby was born a few months later, with spiky hair, which they joked was a result of the lightning. That baby grew up, studied electronic systems engineering, before moving into embedded systems, and has thankfully not suffered other shocks since. That baby was me. It feels a little weird to tell this story because although I was there, I wasn't yet born. Was the "you" in "you are mine" plural? Did I die and get resurrected before even being born? Only God knows. I feel like my parents tell the story better than I could, and there are more personal testimonies from my life that are more relatable. But if you are ever stuck outside in a thunderstorm, please don't shelter next to an electric fence. [1] Isaiah 43:1 "But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine."