Ode to Dustin, my non-blond, wanna-be-surfer, Californian friend

It's 10:40 pm Sunday, September 18, 2005. Just minutes ago I was driving up 170 watching lightening dance in the sky. I have always loved rain and the thunderstorms that often accompany it. Growing up I used to sit in my gradma's old rocking chair (which had been conveniently relocated to my bedroom) and watch the rain pound the highway; overflowing the gutters and filling the big three way stop. I say big because it was the only one in my town. For this small Midwestern town girl, there is nothing like good Midwestern thunderstorm. There is a power within them that leaves me in awe of the God who created them. At the same time there is something in them that calms my soul.

It was in Chicago, while I was doing the Chicago Urban Project with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, that I shared these feelings about storms with a teammate, Dustin. It was hard for this LA born and raised boy to really understand. Unfortunately the summer lacked in good storms. I really longed for Dustin to experience one, and actually prayed about it. Then, late one night/early one morning, I awoke to very loud thunder and torrential rain. The inhabitants of the apartment were all sound asleep as I tip-toed out to the living room in order to get a better view of the storm - all but one that is. As I came around the corner to the living room, I was startled by a body with a face a pressed to the window. Yep, it was Dustin in complete awe of the storm! We sat in silence and watched the storm, for no words could describe what our souls were experiencing!

There is another thing that reminds of Dustin, well, there are a lot of things actually, but this is a funny one. Just before dusk one evening, Dustin and I were sitting outside of our apartment building, processing our day. As the evening glow set in, Dustin said in a very freaked out voice, "Do you see those things glowing in the empty lot over there?" It was as if he were seeing aliens! Guess what he was seeing? Lightening bugs. I guess I didn't realize those are on the west coast.

Lightening and lightening bugs keep the legacy of Dustin alive in my life. That and the fact that he goes to school with my best friend (well, they just graduated). That's them in the picture above.