Power Outage

A flicker, a snap, and then darkness. Dark and quiet. And in the dark, Tom and I both laughed at how indifferent we were about the TV show we were watching. That's when you know you just might need an intervention. But we sat and let our eyes adjust to the darkness. Thanks to the incessant cloud cover there was no moonlight to help out. Then the lights came on and the TV blared. (Had it been so loud before the sudden silence?) I dashed to the laundry closet and snatched up a flashlight, just in time too. I was able to light my way when darkness overtook again, and round up some candles and matches. Then Tom and I sat outside on the porch swing listening to the spring peepers, the wind, and soon a siren. We'd find out in the morning that a car hit a utility pole and toppled it into another pole.

We were without electricity for only a short time. Though predicted storms threatened all night long, our outage was caused by an accident. Sadly, this morning's news shows reported devastation from tornadoes in states across the country (again.) Truly our little outage was nothing. Other people lost homes, all their worldly possessions, some lost neighbors and loved ones. So many natural disasters, storms and floods. So much economic hardship. House foreclosures. Hunger. Illness. My heart breaks for those who suffer... and I'm ashamed for whining over wet weather.

The wind is still blowing hard (2 days? 3 days now?) It blows down the flowers and breaks branches, but it's not tornado force. On the bright side, it parts the clouds so the sun can shine through. We spoke last night about security, feeling safe. This world doesn't offer safety. In fact, the Bible says there will come a time when people say peace, peace, but there will be no peace. Is this that time? Better find your peace in something other than this world. This one appears to be coming apart at the seams.