Time of Restoration — Unknown

The weather channel said we had a marginal risk of severe weather. The storm came when predicted. It hit hard and fast. It was at suppertime for us. A few minutes before found us scurrying for candles and battery operated lanterns and alternative lights as the sky had grown very dark. The table was mostly set, I was doing a few last minute things, the girls were sitting at the table. When I next looked in, they were standing with strange expressions on their faces. I discovered later that they looked the way they did because of the debris hitting off the dining room window — the window at their backs. Had I not been in the midst of the end of the suppertime shuffle, I would have seen the emergency weather alert on my phone a lot sooner, the one that warned people to get away from windows due to the 80 m.p.h. winds.

The fury of the storm lasted for ten to fifteen minutes. We lost our electric almost from the moment it started, which was kind of bizarre. Normally, the lights flicker first if an outage is on the brink. Not this time. We were out cold. Can’t say I gave it much thought. We have a very good energy provider and our outages rarely last. We blew out the wax candles, placed battery operated candles in the bathrooms and a small battery operated light strand on the banister leading upstairs and went to bed. These things never last long.

I was slightly alarmed to discover our electric had not yet been restored when Bob and I woke to ready him for work. We briefly got into the refrigerator to pack his bucket and make him breakfast. After he left, I went upstairs to use our ancient land line phone to call our electric company and get an update. The phone was dead. That was shocking. That good old standby never failed, not like the cordless phones. I went back to bed. It was dark and I was bewildered. When I rose the second time the girls were awake and had a towel under the refrigerator; not a good sign. I thought of our freezers in the basement; one that contained a lot of farm meats and the other that had frozen produce — the second one was not a big concern to most of my family. My husband, especially, could live without brussel sprouts.

I took my cell phone upstairs and hoped for enough service to call our electric corporation for an update. That’s when it began: “The current expected restoration time is unknown.” That would be our mantra for days.

Instead of focusing on the negative, I listed the things to be thankful for in my journal.

1. We have not been injured. We have not lost our home or had any property damage.
2. We have gravity flow water so there was no need to haul water outside of our drinking water. Thank God we could still flush the toilets! (We also have an excellent hot water tank that our energy provider supplied us with years ago. Our water was still hot enough that, used sparingly, we could take a warm, quick shower.)
3. Our stove runs on propane, not electric, so we could still have hot meals.
4. It was not peak summer or winter so we could remain relatively comfortable.
5. Last but not least, my parents who live a mile away and have a different electric company, did not lose their power, thereby making it possible for us to borrow their generator. They were so good to us; providing egg salad sandwiches for one breakfast and Dad bringing us pizza for supper another day.

Despite the generator, there was still a certain amount of stress. Isn’t that the case when our “normal” has been disrupted? All of our needs were met, but life was not “business as usual”. I probably checked at least three times a day for an update but continued to hear: “The current expected restoration time is unknown.” I called less as the days progressed because it was so disheartening to hear. I was grateful to have had the laundry done for the most part before the outage but the hampers were beginning to vomit. And I had to forego using the dishwasher and return to hand washing dishes — one of my very least favorite household chores. It was that chore that tipped the cart during my pregnancy with Rachel and sent me crying outside. Bob bought me the dishwasher shortly after. The clouds parted and the angels sang that day as they shared in my joy.

I got to thinking about how closely related the energy outage is to our spiritual lives. Ever pray about something so intently only to hear “unknown”? I have heard it said that God answers in three ways: Yes, No, Wait. Then Mom made me aware of one that I had not contemplated but it deserves some consideration: Maybe. She had a I-know-everything-Christian argue with her that that is not one of God’s answers. When she explained the situation, it gave me pause to wonder. She had been praying for something and kind of sensed God asking her is she was sure that’s what she wanted. That being said, it wasn’t Yes, No, or Wait; it was Maybe, dependent on, Are you sure that’s what you want? Well, when she returned to her request and looked at it from a different angle, she changed her mind. We’re not puppets, we do have choices.

But that “unknown” message, that’s disheartening. Have you ever felt like you kept seeking and kept getting the same indefinite response? I have. I have just very recently confessed to the LORD that I have been weary in well doing. LORD, I believe, help my unbelief! Sometimes living is so exhausting. But it’s because I make it that way. I loose my grip on the Word and the joyful vision that originally came with it. We must keep the Word stirred and see what it’s creating for us. God created everything that we see with things that we do not see. So we must imitate Him and hold that much is being accomplished in the spiritual realm if we can but BELIEVE, and that we will see it in the physical realm.

My spiritual takeaway during our power outage: For the most part, we kept our spirits up. We kept putting gratitude forward and focusing on what we did have. That made the whole ordeal a lot more bearable and I believe it opened up doors of provision for us. How? My parents did lose their electric for about an hour and a half one night which could have been catastrophic as far as refrigeration is concerned, but God sustained them. We must continue to look unto the hills from where comes our help. And look up, because our redemption draws nigh. We must keep watching and waiting and working until it’s done.

I had gone to bed. We were now moving into the fourth day of no electric. Bob stayed up in expectant anticipation. Rachel, whose room was too warm for her to sleep, joined him in the living room.

“Should we unplug the generator and wrap the cord and flip our house breaker in hopes of our electric coming back?” he asked.

Being exhausted, her response was less than enthusiastic; she just wanted to sleep. Bob continued to watch. Then, about 2 a.m., he saw what he’d been watching for: the outdoor light on the church next door came on. Is it ironic that what alerted him to the return of the power was the church light? He was jubilant, so noisily jubilant in fact, that I was wakened from my slumber upstairs.

Beloved, hold on. Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep looking for the time of the precious being fulfilled. Hold on. God will not fail. He doesn’t know how to.