God has such a sense of humor
It was Friday afternoon that my husband, Bill, and I were saying we needed to take some time to slow down.
Then the big wind storm hit that night, and we were forced to slow down.
God has such a sense of humor.
I had been complaining about having too many emails at work to keep up, about 100 a day in my inbox. And then Monday, we didn’t have any Internet or email connection.
I can see God smiling.
I’ve been saying I needed to defrost our upright freezer. And then there was no power, so now it definitely has to be done. When the lights come back on, that is.
Ours is one of the more than 10,000 homes in Roanoke County still without electricity by Tuesday. It’s an all-electric house, so without power we don’t have lights, air conditioning, nor water. We’re on a well, and of course, without electricity the pump can’t pump. Not having showers is an inconvenience but I did shampoo my hair over a catch bucket in the shower and rinse with 1-1/2 gallons of that store-bought water.
Of course, toilets don’t flush and it takes about the same amount of water poured through to make them go down, too, then top them off with Comet or Clorox. Messy, but so many people all around the Roanoke Valley and Lynchburg area where we used to live are so much worse off.
Our grandparents and parents grew up this way: Saturday night baths in a wash tub, bringing in gallons of water from a spring or well, cooking over wood, no cell phones, no cable TV, going to bed when the sun went down and getting up when it came up because of natural light.
That’s right. We’re spoiled to conveniences. Few of us would go back willingly.
I can take about three-and-a-half days without power before the adventure wears off. I’m at that point now.
Thank God for friends, like Bev Reger of Salem who, with no notice at all, let me use her kitchen Saturday morning to bake cinnamon pecan rolls and cookies that I sell at the Salem Farmers’ Market. She was out cleaning up fallen limbs when I drove past and asked the favor. She was definitely one of God’s angels.
And Bill and I have been pampered and fed this week by friends Sandy and Steve Smeltzer who gave us their sumptuous guest room for two nights, in air conditioned comfort. Even better, they told us this morning to come back to stay again if we need to.
For the past few weeks I’ve been remembering to pray as I drove away from home to work each day, “Thank you, God, for a house. Thank you for running water. Thank you for a car that starts.”
Now I’ll double those thanks. Please reach out to others you know who might need what you can offer.
