Rolling Blackouts and Other Nonsense

February: 
Give Thanks- "I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him." Verse 3.

Step One: Tell Him Thanks.

I'm not going to pretend today was my favorite day.  Multiple power outages, a headache, and a few other frustrations got in the way of it being a favorite day.  Things that seemed significant to be upset about earlier seem a bit silly now looking back. 

This leads me to the conclusion that maybe we are spoiled. (Yeah, just a little bit) You're telling me we had one day with off and on power, and we are complaining like someone is telling us to cut off a limb. 

This morning as I was getting ready, listening to the news, blackness suddenly engulfed me ---without any warning!  I stood frozen for a minute, considered that a serial killer might be about to break in, and then felt around for a lighter and candle.  I continued to get dressed holding the candle, and managed to keep all of my hair from being singed away. 

After arriving at school, I learned that Texas was experiencing what they called, "Rolling Blackouts".  Excuse me, what? So, like anyone else, I googled it as soon as I was able.  Surprisingly this is a real term, and many third world countries experience it. It's where the power company turns off the power every so often to save on electricity in order to prevent a massive blackout.

I had to laugh, because how ridiculous do we look? All in a huff because it was in the 30s today, and we lost power a few times.  And, to think there are many in the world without power ever, and with much worse weather conditions. Some even deal with this every day and just plan around it!  I feel silly.

Today, I am thankful to be taken care of.  I have more than what I need to survive, and I am thankful.  Had I thought of this earlier, being stuck in the dark with 22 third graders might not have been as bad.  In fact, maybe today would have been a favorite. And tonight, my prayers are for those who do not have, and instead, need.