Lights Out
Power out.
All is status quo until the lights go out. The amount of panic that builds up when the lights start to flicker, is real. I’m saddened to admit that I think nothing about turning on a lamp most days. That is until the room goes dark and it’s then a much different story.
There’s an old saying that reads something like - “You don’t know how good you have it until it’s gone.” I hear a lot of people make this comment referring to age and health, but it can be said for all the things we can and do take for granted in life. Including not only the obvious things, but the small things as well.
The moment the lights go out now, I instantly remember a time several years ago when our area was affected by a significant ice storm. The large amounts of ice left trees down with numerous branches falling on and affecting power lines. It left an abundant amount of damage along with no power for thousands of people for days. In the middle of winter.
It makes you thankful for electricity when you go hours to days without it. Thankful for an alternative heat source, the meat that stayed frozen in the freezer, the light that we could turn on with the generator so that I could read a book. It’s big things, but also the small things.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has grown accustomed to these comforts of life. If we have access to them, we should be thankful. I don’t want to just be thankful for them when I need them.
For the blessing of electricity and all of life, we should give God thanks. Praising Him as believers is something we are called to do. To not be afraid to share His name and love with those around us. There’s a great big world that is watching how we react to these minor inconveniences. Do we stay calm or lose our cool? Are we focused on the negative or do we find a reason to be thankful?
I don’t know about you, but I want to be more thankful for all of the blessings in my life. Whether the lights are on or off, I want to live in the same way. Always finding a reason to be thankful.
Psalm 95: 1-7
Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.
Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!
