When Lightning Strikes Twice

1971 was a year of monumental change—a year that quietly reshaped the world in ways few could have predicted.

It was the year:

• NASDAQ launched as the world’s first electronic stock market

• Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle

• FedEx was founded by Fred Smith

• Apollo 14 landed on the moon, using the first-ever lunar rover

• Walt Disney World opened in Orlando

• George Harrison organized the Concert for Bangladesh

• The U.S. passed the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age to 18

• Charles Manson was sentenced

• The Pentagon Papers were leaked, and President Nixon ended the dollar’s convertibility to gold

• The mysterious D.B. Cooper hijacking took place

  
  

These events—and countless others—reshaped political, economic, and cultural landscapes across the globe.

Yet one event went completely unnoticed.

No headlines.

No cameras.

No applause.

A frightened 17-year-old girl, alone, gave birth to her first son. A few days later, she left the hospital and handed that baby to another 16-year-old girl—who would become his mother.

A Quiet Beginning

The birth mother was forced to give him up. The father was forced to leave. Both decisions were driven by fear and circumstance.

The father, over 18, was told to leave town or face criminal charges. The young mother was told to surrender her baby or leave home and never return. Life moved forward, indifferent to the pain of those decisions—just as world events had moved forward without consulting a newborn child.

The adoptive mother married a man twice her age so the baby could be legally adopted.

And so began what can only be described as the quiet, steady hand of God at work.

Questions Without Answers

The baby grew into a curious, wide-eyed boy—curious not only about the world, but about himself.

Like most kids, he was nosey.

One day, he searched through his mom’s files and found his birth certificate. He already knew he was adopted, but details had always been scarce. On that paper, he found a name: Elaine.

The space for his father’s name was blank.

That empty line sent his imagination racing—searching the world for someone he had never met, never known, but had always wondered about.

Decades Later: The First Strike of Lightning

Life unfolded. Faith deepened. Again and again, God’s hand made itself known.

Then one evening, decades later, everything changed.

He and his wife, Heather, were watching 20/20—a routine they shared. That night’s episode focused on foundlings and lost families. Heather casually asked:

“Do you want to try a DNA test?” “What do you have to lose?” she said.

She was right.

Weeks later, the results came back.

First, one half-sister appeared—on his father’s side. Then four sisters. Then three brothers. The evidence was undeniable, even though his biological father initially denied his existence.

Still, knowing who his father was felt like enough.

Until it wasn’t.

“Hello, Son”

Later that year, through one of the sisters, his father reached out. He wanted to talk.

On December 25, 2019, father and son spoke for the first time.

David—his birth father—shared how the Lord had awakened him one night, flooding his mind with memories long buried under PTSD from the Vietnam War. Details surfaced that only his father could know. In 2020, DNA confirmed it.

They planned to meet in person, but once again, the world intervened. COVID shut borders and delayed reunions.

Yet in late summer 2021, they felt a strong urging to go anyway. They found a legal way to cross the border and made the trip.

The first 30 minutes together were filled with tears, hugs, and two words that changed everything:

“Hello, son.”

Lightning had struck.

Then less than three months later, David passed away.

Looking back, they knew why the urgency had been there. God had made sure there was a meeting—because there would not be another chance.

Even in grief, gratitude remained.

But the story wasn’t finished.

Lightning Strikes Again

Spring 2025.

An email arrived with the subject line: “Hello from Arizona.”

The sender claimed to be his birth mother.

Hopeful—but cautious—he replied with three questions. Only his birth mother could know the answers.

Hours later, the reply came.

Every answer was correct. And more details followed—unprompted, precise, undeniable.

It was another “Hello son” moment.  He wept. It was indeed Elaine.

Phone calls followed. Plans were made. Meetings happened. She brought photos—photos he had already seen in his adoptive mother’s keepsake book. The final confirmation.

To help distinguish roles filled with love but shaped by different journeys, they affectionately began calling them:

• Mom & Dad (adoptive)

• Mom(e) & Dad(d) (biological)

A Story Made Whole

The “ugly duckling” story was complete.

In just five years, God reunited him with both biological parents and expanded his family from one brother and one sister to six sisters and five brothers.

Both fathers have since passed—David first, and his stepfather in the summer of 2025. He remains deeply thankful for both mothers, still living, still present.

A Final Word

If you take anything from this story, let it be this:

There is nothing too hard for our God.

Do you have a dream waiting to be fulfilled?

A question unanswered?

A hope buried deep in your heart?

Lay it at the foot of the cross.

Trust Him with it.

Watch what He does.

Because when God is involved—lightning really does strike twice in the same place.