Power Outages

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” *

Without any warning the power in our house suddenly shut down one evening last week. A storm was passing through our area with high wind gusts, possibly knocking a tree branch on top of the power lines. All of the houses on our side of the street and to our south were dark. However, those on the other side of the street were still lit up. Not fair!

Al had already gone to bed, missing out on all of the excitement. I used the flashlight on the cell phone to search around the darkened house for candles and matches. The power outage brought my last-minute chores to a halt in a hurry. Laundry was in the washing machine; the dishwasher was loaded with dirty dishes and carpets still needed to be vacuumed.  

 Since the air conditioning was off, I opened up the windows hoping to cool the house down, but had to lay down towels because it was still raining. The air smelled fresh and with the darkness came peace.

 It was getting close to midnight when Al woke up, sensing that something had happened. We had a snack, being careful not to open the refrigerator door too often so that the cold air would remain inside, and sat on the sofa talking.

Our neighbor in the house directly behind us was also up and texted that her power was out. She had contacted the company and was told that it would be back on by 3:00 a.m. With that news, we decided to call it a day.

The next morning dawned with a clear blue sky and cooler weather predicted. Plenty of rain had fallen on the thirsty ground. Unfortunately though, the power still hadn’t been turned back on. The projected time was delayed to 6:00 p.m. that evening.

I began to get worried about the clothes in the tub getting moldy and the food in the freezer melting; however, Al reassured me that everything would be okay.

Using the cell phone for a flashlight had depleted its battery. It was our main means of communication since the landline, TV and computer were all connected to the internet.  The cell could be recharged out in the car; however, the car had been parked in the garage and the automatic garage door was securely shut. There was no other way to get into the garage.

Al had a key so that it could be opened manually; but even with the key, the door didn’t budge. It wasn’t until he took the key out of the lock that a pull cord tucked away inside was released. Pulling on the cord did the trick!

It’s amazing how many things we take for granted are connected to electricity!

“What did people do 150 years ago?” I wondered, after once again futilely trying to flip a switch in the house. And how to remove a big blob of candle wax from the fibers of the braided rug under the dining room table?

Lunch was enjoyed outdoors, picnic style on the patio table. While we were eating our sandwiches, our neighbor came up to the back fence and we commiserated with her over the lack of power. Cooking was not even an option for her since she had an electric range, whereas we still were able to use the gas stove.

It was quite a surprise when the lights flashed on and the washing machine began to hum around 2:00 that afternoon. I opened the front door and called out to Al, “Let there be light!” With that, normalcy returned. What a relief!

Well, it takes losing the power for several hours to appreciate it! And it takes times of weakness to appreciate the power that comes from our omnipotent God through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Imagine tapping into the power that created the universe and all that is in it! Not only is the Holy Spirit life changing but world changing! Why put it off?

“More love, more power, more of you in my life. I will worship you with all of my heart. I will worship you with all of my mind. I will worship you with all of my strength. For you are my Lord.” (Michael W. Smith, “More Love, More Power”)

*Acts 1:8 NIV