Ever thought about how dependant we are? Dependanton the electrical companies to provide us with power, on the natural gas companies to use their fuel to heat our homes, on our water treatment plants to pump clean, potable water into our homes, dependant on the stores to provide much of what we eat. It's kinda scary when you think of it. What if those services were cut off or the price was too high to be able to afford them?
This week we had a bit of an issue with our power going out here in our small town. Not just a 2 minute power surge, but a whole evening of no lights, heat, and (yikes) computer! Even our land line wasn't working quite right as it is connected electrically. (If we'd had an emergency, the cell phone was charged, thankfully). But it really did make us think a bit about our world and our part in it. We are far from self sufficient. Our family relies heavily on the goods and services we pay for. Now that winter is upon us with it's nasty -30 Celsius days, having no heat for an extended period of time would be an issue. Purchasing anything could be even harder without the use of electronic debit machines in stores. (I don't know about you, but we seldom walk into the grocery store with enough cash on hand to do our "big" shopping trip.) How long would the items in the pantry last us? We have often talked about installing a wood stove for those just in case times (and Michael loves to chop wood and play with fire...) but we're definitely not prepared to outlast an energy crisis.
This sounds a little dramatic, dooms- dayish I suppose, somewhat like the craze of Y2K, but when you're responsible for your children's well being, ones train of thought often gets derailed on how to best take care of them.
But you know, with all that being said, I am reminded of the fact that our Heavenly Father is in control. I am not. (Thank goodness or we'd all be doomed!) And just as He provided His children with manna, quail and water in the desert, He will not let His children starve today. He cares enough to know when a sparrow falls dead, and we are worth more than many sparrows. He promises to never leave us or forsake us.
Somehow I still find it hard to shed my human-ness and clothe myself in trust. Somehow I think I need to work on that so my kids will see that instead of learning to worry. Somehow I think we should live a prepared life, being good stewards of what we have, instead of living blindly. And I also think I need to listen to what the Spirit is saying to me about all of this.
How about you friends? What's your take? Are you prepared? Have a great Monday!
4 comments:
Hey Dawn, what a very enlightening blog post. How thought provoking at how we are so dependant on so many things related to energy. We take it all for granted and when we switch a light on we expect it to light the room. Do we do the same when it comes to God? Do we expect Him to be there, and do we trust Him completely knowing that if He does take care of the sparrows, that He will take care of us so much more?? You are such a gifted writer, thanks for your blog post!
Call me sometime soon...love ya - Tam
Thanks for commenting Tammy! I agree, we too often treat our Lord and Savior more like a Sugar Daddy than the King of the universe.
We have a wood stove, our own water source, and I'm a big grocery-stocker-upper. So I don't worry too much about that kind of stuff.
My sister had someone from the government call, doing a survey, asking whether they would be prepared if their bank went under. What? Way to inspire confidence in our economy! What do they suggest, the old cash under the mattress account?
In our western culture, it is easy to forget that all around us is under God's sovereign hand - we expect to be completely self-sufficient. On the mission field, our dependence on God was much more apparent, but we should trust Him whatever our circumstances.
Angela, I've often wondered about how our family would fair in a country where our every day living was drastically altered. A good friend of mine has also relayed stories of when she was in the mission field and they'd pray for a few days before food would arrive but somehow they'd get by just fine. And you're right, God is just as powerful here as He is there.
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