We’ve dodged a few weather bullets this winter, haven’t we? The forecast has been dicey a few times, but the serious ice and snow barreled north and left us with lots of rain and only a little sleet and ice.
My condolences to all the snow-lovers out there, but those of us who love creature comforts are feeling thankful. Cold rain is no fun, but at least it doesn’t bring down power lines and turn life into a hideous, unplanned camping trip.
There’s no quicker ticket to a power outage at my house in the woods than a winter storm, especially if it includes ice, so when bad weather was predicted a few weeks ago, we prepared for the worst. Jugs of water to drink; tubs of water to flush (our well pump goes out when the power goes out). We were braced.
I never take electricity for granted because ours seems to be so doggone fragile. A suicidal squirrel does a deadly two-step on the power lines and off go the lights. A poof of wind or a little ice disturbs the feng shui in our woods and off go the lights.
I grew up in Indiana when dinosaurs roamed the earth and our power almost never went out. Those transformers and wires surely were primitive by today’s standards, but they didn’t fall down or blow up every time Mother Nature sneezed. (And Mother Nature sneezes a lot in the Midwest.)
This electricity thing has been around awhile, so I really don’t understand why we’re plunged into medieval darkness so often around here.
But wonder of wonders, our power has stayed on so far this winter. A recent storm left ice on our trees, but the lights stayed lit, the furnace kept firing, and the well pump kept chugging. We actually enjoyed the gorgeous sparkly display outside our windows.
I have a theory about why the power has stayed on. My theory is that it’s been quite a year for big, bad weather around these parts. A tornado on Good Friday last spring; lots of rain and high winds this fall and winter. Most everything that could be shaken was shaken. The wimpy branches had been blown to Oz, so when we got some ice here last month, it landed on branches that were tested, tried, and strong.
Hmmm, I believe I feel a life lesson coming on …
Occasionally, big storms blow into our lives with blustery gusts that shake us to our roots. Job losses, illnesses, deaths, accidents, relationship problems.
But we also endure small daily “storms”– frustrations, disappointments, interruptions, distractions. Little gusts that rattle our branches or leave an icy coat on our hearts.
How we deal with the small storms may determine whether we can withstand the big blasts. If we let the little storms thin out the dead branches of self-centeredness and faithlessness, our hearts will stand strong when all you-know-what breaks out around us or within us.
Sooner or later, big winds are going to blow in our lives. I wish they wouldn’t, but they will. Will the lights stay lit … the heat stay hot … the well keep pumping?
Hurting people out there need to see that Jesus makes a difference in the lives of people who say they believe in Him. They need to see that the power at work in our lives isn’t fragile or fickle, and that no wind – no matter how hard or cold it blows — can turn off His light in our lives.
“…He (Jesus) said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)