Ocoee pastor counting blessings after lightning strikes home

OCOEE, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A pastor is counting his blessings after his house was hit by lightning.

David Hartbarger says he could see the smoke coming from his home miles away, after lighting struck his house causing a huge hole.

"We're very thankful that we were away."

He says his family would usually be home, but happened to be out for doctor's appointments.

"When we got here we ran into a real firestorm literally."

Had they been inside at the time of the strike he says, "Probably my daughter would have been upstairs and that's where that direct hit was and from the damage that we could see it could have killed her."

Despite the damage. David believes someone was watching out for them.  You see he's a local pastor at Church of Christ, as well as a chaplain for Ocoee PD. He's amazed at all the prayers he and his family have gotten.

"I've been on the helping end so many times for different things and to get the receiving end gives you a different prospective. Makes you appreciate your fellow man. It's a wonderful thing."

He has advice for others dealing with sudden challenges like this one.

"Just take a deep breath and take it one day at a time and pray to the Lord to see it through."

The pastor says it could take around 6 months to repair the damage.