Author: Melissa

Hello, my name is Melissa. I grew up as a pastor's kid and am now a pastor's wife. I'm married to Joseph Smith, who is the Pastor of Pine Air Baptist Church in Grand Bay, AL. We have three miracle children here on earth and two in heaven. As of July 18, 2017, God graciously allowed me to survive being struck by lightning. Five years later on March 31, 2022, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer HER2+ and HER2-. Today, I can say, together with God's help, I am an OVERCOMER! Because He lives and His mercies renew every morning, I can say I am a Lightning Survivor, Cancer Warrior, and Daughter of the King!
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1 Year Anniversary

July 18, 2018

Today marks my one year anniversary of my life-changing event of being struck by lightning!!! I am thankful to be alive!  I continue to thank God for His faithfulness and that His mercies are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23

It has been a year of ups and downs that come with the after-effects of the damage the lightning left behind – nerve damage, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and migraines are among a few of the daily battles. This is something that you won’t hear on the nightly news media. Until recently, the only time you heard of someone being struck by lightning on the news was when a person was killed by the lightning strike. I have yet to see them cover how a lightning survivor copes with the injuries or struggles to find doctors that have dealt with this type of injury in order to get the help they desperately need. Sadly, most survivors struggle with depression after struggling to find either a doctor that is willing to help or even keep a friend that understands the plethora of symptoms that they struggle with on a daily/weekly basis.

We continue to pray that God will heal me completely. While waiting for God to answer that prayer, I am doing my best to learn how to use natural remedies as much as possible to aid in the healing process.

I thank God for the loving support of my family and close friends. I also thank God for the new friends I have made through my Lightning Strike support group. God has already opened doors for new friendships and has enlarged my coast (1 Chronicles 4:10) beyond what I could imagine allowing me to be able to help others. I look forward to how much God will extend that coast in the near future.

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Lightning Strikes

I have a new appreciation for Lamentation 3:22-23 “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed…”

I was struck by lightning on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.  The meteorologists called for rain that day, but it was a sunny day.  I was sitting at the kitchen table working on our laptop when all of a sudden I heard an extremely loud clap of thunder.  Our daughter saw a blue streak of light come through the house and I was being zapped!!!  Our middle son felt a light zap through his earbuds as he was on the computer in the living room, but he’s had no lasting effects from it.

We later found out that lightning had struck the ground not ten feet outside the back of the house.  It side flashed and came through the house hitting me on my left side!  We screamed!

I lost control of my left hand and dropped the cell phone.  The left side of my body was immediately numb and tingling.  I had an enormous headache, my chest hurt horribly, it felt like I was being stung all over at the same time, and I was disoriented.

My husband came home from work and took me to the E.R.  The ER Doctor admitted that he had never treated a lightning strike survivor and had to google internet to find out what to do.  They ran tests (EKG, bloodwork, and Xrays) to check my heart for damage.  Everything seemed to be okay.  After several hours, I was sent home.

The next couple of weeks were a blur for me.  I am struggling with side effects that could either be temporary or permanent.  I am not bouncing back as fast as I’d like, and my thoughts are often quite scattered.

I am thankful that the Lord spared my life “because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

We are asking prayers for complete healing and relief of pain that I now experience on a daily basis.  Hug your loved ones because you are not promised tomorrow.

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Hello world!

Hello! I’m glad you are here.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to drop by for a while.  I pray that you will find this site both informative and encouraging.

Last year my world was drastically changed when I was struck by lightning!  Yes, you read right.  I was struck by lightning and survived.

Some of my injuries include nerve damage and a traumatic brain injury.  Since there isn’t much information on the recovery process of being struck by lightning, I decided to document my recovery in order to help others like me.  Please note that I am not a doctor or a scientist.  I’m just doing my best to find natural ways to the path of healing.

This will be a journey of learning and discovery …

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