Boom! Pop! The house shook and the lights went out.
“What’s going on…?” a teenager called in disbelief.
The house was plunged into darkness. No more Christmas lights twinkling at the window, or a brightly lit tree. No more Christmas movie on television or Bing Crosby crooning over the speakers. Computers waned on battery power and cell phones–already at low battery near day’s end–were turned off to conserve remaining power. With no furnace running, the cold of a windy, icy Minnesota night began whistling through cracks and doors and the temperature in the house quickly dropped.
I was immediately struck by two things: One, with how dependent we are on electricity—to function, stay warm, and be entertained. And two, with the significance of going without illumination on the day we celebrate the coming of the light into the world. 
Joseph and Mary had no electric light or battery-operated flashlight, or matches to light sweet-smelling candles. No furnace or probably not even a fire to keep them warm. As a parent, tripping in the dark trying to find candles and wool blankets, it made me consider with renewed appreciation Mary and Joseph’s quest to find somewhere warm and safe for their child to be born.
After the shock wore off, it was something of a relief for the blaring television and the onslaught of video games to cease for a little while. To laugh and tease each other in the dark, and argue over who would get to have the furry warm cat sleep in his bed. To go to bed early and snuggle under thick blankets and be thankful for a house that kept the worst of the cold at bay.
Sometime in the night, the power company truck arrived and then another, and soon lights were coming on, clock radios flashing, alarms beeping, and computers booting up. But for a few hours on a cold Christmas, we experienced the clarity and peace of a winter’s night. A silent night. A holy night.
I am afraid any significance was lost on my teenage sons and techy husband. But I was left with a renewed thankfulness–for the blessing of a (usually) warm home, and for the light of the world.
When was the last time you went without power? Was it a memorable experience?
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Glad your power came up again without days of waiting, but your post left me feeling warm. Thanks, Julie.
Thanks, Robin. Yes, we were impressed with how quickly the company responded, especially on a major holiday.
We lost power for 2 1/2 days during some very warm temperatures last Summer when a bad storm took out a bunch of electric lines. Was it a memorable experience? Yes, but not a good one. Our home, although well insulated, got pretty warm so it was hard to sleep. Although we had a generator, it was not big enough to run the air conditioner, nor the water pump, etc. We could not run the generator at night, as we were afraid to leave our garage door open. My husband has lots of tools out there. We won’t forget this experience for a long time, but we do appreciate our electricity even more! BTW, you might want to consider buying a couple of battery powered lanterns! They came in very handy!
Oh man, a hot summer without a/c is tough. We were just talking about maybe buying a generator–a few lanterns would be good, too. Thanks!
I am so glad Julie that yours eventually came back on because of the cold and techie husband and son! I understand this very well. This fall, I was supposed to fly to Texas to present at the middle school national teacher’s conference and Hirricane Matthew closed down everything in Myrtle Beach area where I live. I had to try to continue to check flight cancellations and pack and get ready in the dark, no shower, car under a tree in the driveway, contacting any brace friend by text to come assist me in traveling the 1/2 hour to the airport on very busy roads with trees down over all of them, no traffic lights working anywhere and flooding causing massive devastation to my neighborhood. What is sad is people see these clips on t.v. for mere seconds, but we are still feeling the after effects of that tragedy. Thankfully, my teaching fellow picked me up in his older car that was not under water and got me safely to the airport on the only non-cancelled flight and I went to present in Austin. When I returned three days later, everything in my freezer was gone, the neighborhood was under worse flooding than when I left and I had no water or electric for four more days. School was out for 9 days and it had been declared a state of emergency for South Carolina. The people in my quaint town of Conway, SC, were the ones to marvel at. I am a northerner from Pittsburgh and moved here in 2006, but I have really been touched by the family rooted love of the southern people. They are so faithful to God and help others in need despite any differences in culture, race, religion or anything else that separates us in this world. For those nights that I wondered where my next hot meal would come, God led me through it all and eventually back to work and to my sweet sixth grade students. When I began hearing stories from them of their own experiences, it warmed my heart to know most were safe and had minimal damage. Some lost everything, houses completely submerged under water for almost a month. Thankfulness and God’s love were the things that I heard most spoken of during those days. Thank you for bringing back those thoughts to me today as I start my morning and God bless you and your family. ~blessed beyond believe, Mary E. Massey, Conway, SC
I realize now that I should not text in the dark on my phone as I made spelling errors in a hurry to text it. I am a chubby girl with plump fingers and my iPhone doesn’t come equipped with a plump chick keyboard rofl! Have a wonderful day! Mary
No worries, Mary. And thanks for the laugh over your plump chick keyboard comment! 🙂
🙂 Yes, these fingers have caused some real texting disturbances! Lol!
Wow, Mary. Your post really puts things in perspective. What a calamity for so many. How wonderful that God was praised in the midst of that terrible time. Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome and I am happy that God’s love is what was the most important memory. Blessings, Mary
Every time the power goes out, I am reminded of how much we are dependent on modern technology. It is sad, but since the world has hooked us into the Internet, cell phones, and online banking, we are stuck.
Thanks for taking an upsetting event and turning it into a beautiful post and reminder of the true light of the world.
Blessings, Julie, and Happy New Year!
Sad but true. You’re very welcome, Betty. A blessed 2017 to you, too.
We lost power many years ago for a few days in the middle of summer during a blackout in NYC. It was hot and miserable.
Ugh. Sounds like it, Laurie. Sure makes us thankful for air conditioning, doesn’t it? Hope you are well.
We have frequent power outages here.I have a transformer buried by the mail box in the front yard.Midamerican energy has had to dig it up several times.Fortunately it has never happened in cold weather I hope it never does….Happy New year.
Thanks, Diana. Happy 2017 to you, too.
The last time we were without power was not a pleasant experience.
We paid our electric bill early because we were going on vacation.
We came back to a hot house, two refrigerators and a freezer full of food that was not cold.
Needless to say, we had a mess on our hands.
Oh no! What a mess indeed. Not memorable in a good way, that’s for sure!
Julie, I can relate to your story – as well as the others – as we had a hurricane style wind storm in Eastern Washington a little over a year ago. 9 days without power made me realize how much I take for granted in my life. The temperature never got above freezing that week and when the heat went on – Thanksgiving morning – it was 48F in my living room. I think I wrote the longest prayer in my journal I had ever written, telling God thank you for stupid things like a stove and fridge. I’m glad to hear your outage was only hours long and that you all survived the experience. It really was a Silent Night for you.
Going without power is usually okay unless it’s a lot of days together. A few years back, quite a few actually, we had a power outage that lasted a while. I worked at a grocery store and meat , milk and other perishables had to either be given away or thrown away. Some employees lost days off work. I volunteered off. Of coarse once home I caught to save my meat and freezer stuff. There were no hot showers or laundry done during those days of no electric. What I enjoyed about it was the ways I came up with to make meals. A fresh pot of coffee each morning made on my gas grill. Later a breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked on the grill. Dinner the same. We ate good every night so the meat didn’t go to waste. I worked like crazy during the day light and went to bed early after dark. All of it wasn’t bad but can’t say I was unhappy when the power finally came back on. A whoop and a heart felt thank goodness and a prayer of thanks to God.