Last night our home (and neighborhood) lost electrical power for 4 and a half hours, from 4:45 until 9:15 PM. Our home relies on cable for phones, television, and computer, so we were effectively shut off from all communication -- not to mention lights -- for all that period of time.
We got out our flashlights and our candles and wondered how we should spend the evening. We had no idea when the power would come back on. As we sat in the candlelight (and I certainly don't want any one to think us super-spiritual), it was suggested that we spend some time in prayer together. That was good. Afterwards we decided we would see
how many Bible verses we could recite together. That was something we had never done before. But it was extraordinarily rewarding. To verbalize Bible verses from memory etches their power on the mind and heart and we enjoyed it immensely. Then I got out my guitar (I have always appreciated the advantages of an acoustic guitar over electric!) and we sang songs.
To say it was a wonderful evening would be an understatement. But it was more than that. It was an experience of being cut off from "normalcy" -- the constant bombardment of stimuli either from TV or internet -- and it introduced us to a new quality of life. We went to bed early, just before the lights came on, and I continued pondering the significance of the evening. Should I take a cue from the evening's experience, and begin moderating my media intake? Is my addiction too strong to make that possible? Should I try to make strides in that direction? I wonder. I'll have to see. But a "new awareness" has definitely dawned.