The power just came back on.
It's been off for a whole 24 minutes, yet I've been squealing like a stuck pig, thinking about my new friends in Spanish Wells, Bahamas. They dealt with their power outages like champs. Me? I'm a wimp.
Maybe it's because I know just how uncomfortable life can get when the power goes out.
Not minutes before this whole debacle, I had been singing God's praises, rheuminating on what a fantastic day today had been. I was having visions of blog posts depicting all the goodness that has come my way today. I felt like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, running through the hills, breathing in all of the beauty surrounding me. (I'm serious - that's really how I felt, cheese and all.)
It only took 24 minutes for my mood to go from soaring to sour.
It only took one spot fire in my zipcode (I'm in Austin, Texas, where the fires are raging) to alter the direction of my day, thwarting my plans for a calm afternoon.
It might only take one gust of wind to bring that spot fire right to my door.
I became less perky, I admit, but I didn't become overwraught with fear. I had merely a healthy level of concern. As I waited to get more information on exactly where the fire was, I sat down to write a list of the things I would grab if the firefighters told us to evacuate.
I was happy to find that my list was short. As I looked around our house, I found that there really is very little here that I can't live without.
I'm glad for that, thankful that the state of my heart is such. I worked hard for a good, long season to let go of lots of attachments, actively engaging the process of repenting from any idols I bowed to, and this mini, 24-minute test reminded me of that work. Work that has born fruit.
(I don't say that in pride, nor do I say it without compassion in my heart for those who have lost their homes. I know I would grieve if that happened to us. I am grieving with my neighbors who are walking through loss right now. I'm just trying to acknowledge God's goodness to me, how He has set me free, something He highlighted by bringing the threat of devastation close enough to remind me, to cause me to search my heart anew...the gift of release He gave me through the process of repentance. When we empty our hands of that which we cling to, we really are able to live more peacefully, more open to whatever He has for us next.)
Now, when the wind blows, I won't be swayed by the deceit of fear and worry. I'll simply know which way to bend.
Linking up with the lovely ladies at Soli Deo Gloria today.
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