Sunday evening a blizzard blew into the Chicago area. Because I have trouble with stairs these days I have been sleeping in my easy chair which lies flat out. I woke up at three Monday morning to go to the bath room. My lamp was out and it was pitch black. I always pray for the Lord to walk with me before I try to stand, but this time my prayer was a little more serious. I stood, grabbed my canes and felt my way with them like a blind man through the living room, around the staircase, down the hall and into the bath room. I spent a little extra time there waiting for the power to come back on, but when it didn’t I said another prayer and retraced my steps to my chair. I tried to call the electric company to make sure they knew I was without power, but the phone was dead. My laptop was fully charged so I tried to contact them with that, but there was no wifi (which explained why my phone was dead since AT&T switched it to Uverse to save me some money). Finally, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and it beeped “low battery”.
There I was, in the dark, cut off from the world, but surprisingly I felt no panic or fear. Then I started to get cold with the thermostat and furnace blower out too. I knew there were some towels and blankets folded on my couch so I again said a prayer, got up and navigated around the coffee table to grab the first large, heavy towel I touched and head back to my chair. That extra layer was just what I needed to retain my body heat, so I stretched out and went back to sleep. I woke at eight o’clock when the phone rang. It was a recorded message from the electric company announcing that power had been restored (something I already knew because my lamp was on again and the phone was working). What a way to start this week!
I am sharing this experience with you because I want you to know when you feel like you are in the dark and the cold, cut off from friends or family, there is no need to panic or let fear overcome you. God is there by your side to guide your timid steps and keep you from tripping or falling. He will provide warmth and comfort and will give you peace and rest even in the midst of the storm (or blizzard) around you.
This experience strengthened my prayer life and my faith. It reminded me of the words of one of my favorite gospel songs, The Promise. “I never said I’d give you silver or gold, or that you wouldn’t feel the fire or shiver in the cold, but I did say you’ll never walk through this world alone and I did say don’t make this world your home. I didn’t said that fear would never find you in the night or that loneliness is something you’d never have to fight, but I did say I’ll be right there by your side and I did say I’ll always help you fight. You know I made a promise that I intend to keep. My grace will be sufficient in every time of need. My love will be the anchor you can hold onto. This is the promise I made to you. So just keep on walking, don’t turn to the left or right and in the midst of darkness let this be your light; hell can’t separate us and you’re going to make it through. This is the promise I made to you.” Those words ring so true to me because they are echoes of so many verses of scripture assuring us of God’s unfailing love, constant care and presence.