The Blessing of Mother Nature

Well first things first. I will have to say this is my first blog, so that in itself would be miracle #1. I don’t have a Facebook account. I don’t Skype or tweet, although I do have a Duck Commander duck call. I’m not electronically savvy. I still haven’t’ figured out how to program my VCR! Oh, I guess we don’t use those any more, Thank God! My home if full of electronic gadgets that I seldom use nor have the patience to use. Every time I pick up an electronic device it wigs out on me. I usually rant and rave blaming the device, but my wife is always quick to acknowledge that it’s operator error. I get confused as to the name of the device and its intention but am always quickly corrected by teenagers who usually laugh (at my expense) and call me old. So recently I was surprised to see my spouse and child exhibiting similar frustrations that I have had with electronics, albeit from an unlikely situation.

Most of us in the Greater DeWitt area were stricken by mother nature’s wrath, as a 100 year ice storm wreaked havoc on our community with widespread power outages and damage to property and trees - - our community was paralyzed. During this time of devastation I witnessed something incredible. From the moment the power went out there was a transformation (or an awakening) taking place in our household. Up until that moment our lives had revolved around electronics. I would rarely see my children come out of their rooms unless it was to get food or a restroom break. Joyfully playing video games for hours on end, facebooking, tweeting and looking up some random bit of information on the internet to discredit something their father had told them. Anyway as the power diminished and cell phones, tablets and ipods slipped into electronic purgatory, my children ventured from their rooms confused and concerned that their world had just come crashing down. What were they to do?

 

Miracle #2 – Their instinctive nature for family bonding had once again emerged from the depths of the Matrix. At first, conversations were slow and short but as time went on the ice would break and we would enjoy the companionship of family. We talked about random topics, we huddled around the stove to cook dinner and we played with the dog, laughed and enjoyed each other. The following day we rallied together as a family and proceeded to start cleaning up the debris with no complaints (which usually never occurs when anything is asked of them). They ventured outside (which also never occurs unless there’s a sale at the mall). Something was happening …. Perhaps God had slowed things down so we could once again reconnect. Although I must admit I wasn’t aware of it while it was happening. It didn’t actually come to me until several days later. As days went by it became apparent to my children that they may actually survive despite not having their daily dose of social media and electronics.

 

Miracle #3 – On Christmas Eve, around mid-afternoon, power was restored and the only reason I consider this a miracle is the meat in the freezer was about to spoil! The quietness and camaraderie that had prevailed for the last few days had come to an end. We were back in full swing much to the joy of my children. A few days later as evening approached I walked out on my porch, gazing to the west, watching the clouds pass through as the sun radiated off the horizon. The trees glistened like tinsel on a Christmas tree. At that moment I knew that among the disaster and chaos there was a beauty, and that we had been blessed by our Heavenly Father. I gave praise and a thank you for the awakening or Miracle #4 that had occurred. It was a reminder to me that it’s ok to periodically slow things down to witness and enjoy what the Lord provides.

 

And next time I want some family time, I’ll just go downstairs and flip off the breaker. J

 

The Anonymous Blogger
(Jack Hanneman)