Beautiful yet painful...the ice storms

The results of the ice storm that hit the heartland on Monday evening had many results. To walk out and look at the horizon is just breathtaking. As far as the eye can see the earth has been transformed into a crystal palace. The sun's rays dance across the horizon, set ablaze by the crystallized grass. Treetops look like chandeliers glistening in the morning sun. Unfathomable numbers of icicles stranded along miles of power lines and fence. Such a magnificent picture could not be painted by human hands.

However, in the midst of this breathtaking beauty is pain. So many homes are unequipped to heat themselves without electrical service. Many families find themselves without heat, warm food, and even water.

Fortunately we have a fireplace and had prepared by bringing plenty of wood into the garage to keep dry. We also had charcoal and propane for our grills so we could cook. In case of extreme emergencies we even had an inverter that we could plug into our vehicles to create 110 volt electricity.

This was a wonderful lesson for our girls. In our affluent society our children do not know what it is like to go without. Not even power. Even the company that I work for (which is a great company!) has a "no downtime" policy on the computer network.

In a way, I am Thankful for this event taking place. By day I am a Network Engineer (computer geek) and the only thing that I can ever 100% guarantee you about technology is that it will fail. I'm Thankful for this failure of our system. The humility of opening your doors to another family or even accepting the offer to move one's family into another's care.

In a season when one of the truest acts of compassion and mercy was shown on mankind. Our Creator emptied Himself to come down and dwell among us, being tempted in every way so that we know we have a High Priest who sympathizes with us (Phillipians & Hebrews). In this storm we were forced to humble ourselves, to serve others, to work together, and to even live together.

This begs many questions about our heritage, lifestyle, and society. But we are the only one's that can look long and hard inwardly and ask\answer those questions. Will we?

Blessings,

Jeremy & Kaci