or maybe better titled "Why Trees are Here"
This is a pretty neat story, I'll try to make it concise.
Yesterday was a quiet day, so quiet that I decided to leave an hour early so I could go home to prepare for the evening dress rehearsal of the community play my daughter and I are in.
At 3pm I had a visitor touring our facility and he talked about a spiritual attack where lighting struck his network and took it out for 6 weeks during a translation project.
At 4pm the phone rang, a server in our aviation department was offline and they needed my help. I suddenly realized I was at risk of missing my dress rehearsal.
As I was on the phone, it began to rain heavily and within 15 minutes, practically no warning, a loud CRACK made me jump out of my chair. The lights dimmed, the phone hissed. Lightning had struck something nearby.
We have lightning storms often, but in my 2.8 years here I haven't see it touch down. This time, it struck a tall tree down the road.
So as I went to tell my aviation friend I had to go, instead the solution to the issue jumped out at me... we solved it.
Before heading to my rehearsal I decided to look at my network.
Sure enough a switch was killed by the lightning strike (or residual EMP). Guess which department? The only one currently actually printing a Bible. Coincidence?
I don't believe in coincidence.
I rush down in the pouring rain to look at the switch
(remembering for the rehearsal we were instructed to keep our hair dry).
I ran into a low door jamb and hit the top of my head... and fell over. I didn't black out, but I thought I might.
Soon I was up and working on the network issue. The switch was gone, and I had to drum up a replacement. This could wait till morning since it was quitting time for everyone anyway.
I went out in the rain and couldn't start my bike.... so I was fuming now. I mean... stressed and upset and.... when you have a very full plate, to have it doubled is a lot to bear.
So I stopped and prayed and calmed myself. GOD, this is your equipment, everything, I pray against the enemy, heal it, calm me, help me not to home and be gruff.
Suddenly my bike started up, and I went home.
God reminded me He was there... and caring for us.
But wait it gets better.
The night before I woke up in the middle of the night and said "hey, the set we adjusted is heavier now, I better warn folks."
So sure enough, I warned everyone "the set is now top heavy, it may fall."
And it did, but no one was hurt because no one was behind it. I felt bad for predicting the problem but having no feasible solution.
That's a side note.. but another reminder.. God is watching over us.
So this morning, I'm running around fixing things. People are telling me stories of having felt the static. Children were near the very tree that was struck and felt a tingle in their feet, that's it.
NONE of our server equipment was killed but the 1 switch. (a very old one).
AND... one entire department went down, and the fix was a simple surge protector and a dsl filter. TOTAL cost for them, around $3.00!!!
The harshest strike I've ever been witness too, and tons of stories of "well my surge protector died, but that's it." come rolling in.
GOD, thank you for that visitor that reminded me to pray, and thanks for answering the prayers and sparing the more expensive equipment.
I woke up thinking "today could be really really bad news, lots of expensive damage might be." but instead.... I'm hearing "well a $2.00 piece failed to spare a $150.00 peice"
GOD is the GOD of technology too.
