Surprise Showers and Powerful Outages

One Sunday morning in June of 2023, I woke up to a weather alert on my phone: areal flood advisory. This didn’t make any sense. When we checked the forecast the night before, there was no chance of rain for ten days (as far as the app lets you see). Confused, I opened the weather app and it said, “raining now.” I still didn’t believe it. (I have trust issues with the weather apps). Then I looked outside and saw puddles. A few minutes later, the rain was significant enough to hear on our metal patio roof and over the water heater.

We saw a rainbow as we pulled out of the garage on our way to worship. About halfway through the sermon, there was a “pop”, and the power blinked a few times before staying out. Fortunately, we have a large window at the back of the auditorium, so it wasn’t pitch black. We finished worship in the dark, without PowerPoint or microphones. And you know what? It was beautiful!

Technology is merely a tool. When everything works correctly, maybe we expand our reach. At best, we serve our members who cannot attend in-person services, but this does not mean we cease visitation. When things do not go as planned, we can still worship, just as people have done for centuries before us. 

The lesson: We don’t “need” as much as we think we do to enjoy life. Sometimes a freak rainstorm, a random power outage, and a rainbow remind us about what’s important.