by Joanie Butman
Truth be told, finding the happy place I mentioned last week is getting harder and harder amidst the seemingly endless negativity and suffering in the world. People’s patience and nerves are as frayed as the power lines it took a week to repair in the wake of the recent storm.
It seems as if there are squalls raging everywhere. The weather is just as turbulent as the social tensions in this country. Hurricane season is upon us as we close in on a presidential election guaranteed to rival “the perfect storm” of 1991. A generator might be an excellent investment - and not the kind you purchase at Home Depot.
Hurricane Isaias left our town without power for eight days. You want to see people panic? A pandemic pales in comparison to lack of internet connection. I can exist without the internet just fine, but when my connection to God is frayed, everything seems worse. It’s not, of course, but my perception and attitude are what changes.
The best part of me flows from that connection. There isn’t a crisis more life-threatening than a break in my Divine power line. Crises tend to strengthen that connection. It’s when I get lazy and lulled into a false sense of security things start to fall apart, because as I’ve learned time and again, I’m not good on my own but “with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).” He is the generator that gets me through any personal power outage.
As many discovered last week, generators are hard to find during a catastrophic storm. In addition, many fail to function because they haven’t been maintained properly. Believe me, you don’t want to wait until you’re in the eye of a hurricane to test your generator. Ours runs on a weekly basis to “exercise” it and keep it running smoothly, and refueled on a regular basis. While weekly maintenance and refueling is fine for an electrical generator, a spiritual generator needs daily exercise and fuel to keep it fit and ready for any kind of storm. The stronger the connection, the calmer the soul. Storms may rage around me but as the hymnist, Horatio Spafford, wrote after the death of his four children:
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
While I was not in town during the storm, my family was grateful for my husband’s diligent efforts to keep our generator fueled and in working order. Unfortunately, when it comes to a spiritual generator, no one can do the work for you. It’s a personal choice to cultivate that connection and exercise it daily, if not hourly, so that you can be a beacon of His light to others when storms come. Prayer is the fuel that keeps His light burning brightly and the surest way I know to find my way back to my happy place by His side.