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Brownout Again

Second brownout in three days. Having no lights where we live can be a pain, because there’s no breeze going through the unit. But it has its advantages too – a mall across the street where you can pass the time.

Unfortunately, one of the things we haven’t fixed so well at home is the emergency lighting plan. So when the lights go out, we’re stumbling along using cellphones as flashlights. The first time, it happened right while I was cooking too. Burnt fingers and spilled food ensued.

But today was different. My genius wife pulled out our headlamps, and suddenly we could function. Cooking, eating, and washing the dishes like the electricity was back. We ate a simple meal, something we just threw together – fried eggs, whole wheat bread, bratwurst, and garlicky mashed potatoes with truffle oil.

with a side of Chippy for that extra kick

I realized something today. It worked because I had light where I was looking. And that’s really the only place where I need the light to be – where I’m looking. I don’t need light behind me, because I’m not looking there. My wife and I took a moment in our meal to sit down and chew on that thought.

Sometimes, I want more light than I need. I know what the next step is, but I wanna see everything lit before I take it. That never happens. We’ll never know EVERYTHING there is to know. Will I have enough money to provide for a family? Will I have success if I quit this job and start on my own? Will God really restore this relationship? We want to know the ending, and until we do, we won’t move.

But we won’t know everything and we don’t need to. What we can do is ask for light for where we are right now – light for where we’re looking. And as we continue walking in faith with Jesus Christ, the Bible promises that we’ll get more light, enough for the next step.

If you don’t recognize Jesus as your Lord and Savior and put your trust in Him completely, then the Bible describes your life as walking in a constant darkness, maybe that’s why you hurt yourself or make wrong decisions. Like us in the first brownout. But in Him there’s light! Not that everything will be lit right away. But there’s enough to get moving in the right direction. As a good friend of mine once reminded me,

“The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18

P.S. The lights finally came back a little before midnight.

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11 comments
    • Hahaha! Great idea… It was hard to have a conversation with the light directly at my face as we talked.

  • wow..nakakabless! because of brown-out nareremind tayo. 😉 thanks pastor joseph and ms rica for sharing. God Bless u both. ♥♥♥

  • I love the way God moves in your lives. Indeed in simple yet very personal moments, God moves and speak to us in ways we sometimes to expect. Browouts…its amazing that no matter where we are and what we do, God’s presence is always there to constantly reminds us how much He loves and cares for us. Thanks for sharing.

  • I love the way God moves in your lives. Indeed in simple yet very personal moments, God moves and speak to us in ways we sometimes never expect. Browout will never hinder God’s showcase of His unceasing love to us.It’s amazing that no matter where we are and what we do, God’s presence is always there to constantly reminds us how much important we are in God’s sight. Thanks for sharing this.

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