Power

So we had a really bad storm here last week. I watched the sky darken and heard the rolling thunder as it moved over the tree tops quickly toward our home. My hubby pulled in just as the hail started pounding the ground. My kids watched the storm with an excitement that only grew when the power went out. Oh what fun! Grab the flashlights. Light the candles. Cook over a fire. (thank goodness for a gas stove)

Yeah, that excitement lasted about 2.4 seconds. Then they realized: no TV, no phone, no radio, no computer, no video games.

Hubby and I laughed. Our kids couldn't even survive a night without technology. Kids these days. We, however, were much more mature and creative. An evening with no power - ha! We laughed in its face.

Play a game, read a book, sit in the silence we never have. We could do this no problem!

Within a 1/2 hour I was toast. Waving my white flag. Electricity, please come back! I'm pretty sure I did a happy dance when - two hours later - it finally did. I rushed to my computer and flipped it on, the blinking screen a beacon of happiness.

The children went to bed, and hubby and I went back to our computers. There was stuff to be done, and we'd been waylaid long enough. I sat at the kitchen table and began typing out the critique I'd promised a friend. Finished, I opened my email and hit 'send', only to have my screen freeze. I looked at hubby and found him in a similar predicament. We tried the TV - nothing but white fuzz. The phones? Silent. Our cable had gone out. I think I started to hyperventilate.

Okay, so maybe my breathing remained stable, but there was a bit of a scramble. Sure, we had lights, but no TV, no Internet, no...well...no nothing! What on earth was I supposed to do? Didn't God know how busy I was?

Oh, I'm sure He knew all right. Nothing escapes Him. And apparently, my frantic busyness hadn't either. It was time for Him to slow me down and refocus me.

I headed for bed, book in hand because, really, what else was there to do? As I slipped between my sheets and cast a look longingly at my laptop God spoke clearly to me. What if I desired Him as much as I desired my technology? What if my heart froze at the mere thought of approaching one night without Him? What if I realized true power came, not from a cord plugged into my home, but from Him.

Yeah. Stopped me too. Sometimes God does that. Takes something so simple and refocuses you. Reminds you that He is all you need. All you should desire. And the only source of power you'll ever need. His will never go out.