Thursday, August 19, 2010

POWER

I had a nice time today at Woodrow Wilson Plaza. It was wonderful to sing out in the open air. The atmosphere was powerful. A homeless man danced throughout the entire event. A man in a wheelchair lifted his hands and spun in his chair. Government employees left their offices, filled the plaza, and sang along. The weather was great. Not a rain cloud in the sky.


A lady walked up to me after the concert, reintroduced herself and told me that Mother Glass, an elderly woman I met at a local church, had passed away. I remember that Mother Glass was very spry and always impeccably dressed. She walked with her head high and didn't mince words. I'll never forget what she said to me one day when I got an unexpected phone call. She asked me if I had any anointing oil. I told her that I did. She asked, "Well do you use it?" She sensed that I was being bullied, and not putting up much of a fight. She told me to keep the oil in my purse.
"Don't you worry about the devil, and don't you let him run you.", she said. "People get scared when they see me going in my pocketbook, Baby, 'cause they know they gonna be hittin' the floor. They gonna have to send ALL their clothes to the cleaners! You got oil, Baby? Well, use it! Sometimes you gotta have thick skin. If the devil knows he can scare you, he'll be running you the rest of your life. I don't let him run me. HE got to go..."

God rest her soul. I'm glad to have met her. She was warning me of the dangers of not being alert, and not knowing the power that is available to you. I suppose it is nice to get to the place where nothing bothers you, because you're prepared for whatever comes.

The afternoon was passing smoothly, and all of a sudden at 6:04 the power went out. The TV went black not long after "Peter Gunn" ended. The ceiling fan slowed to a stop and my computer quickly let me know that my internet connection was a no-show. Not knowing how long it would be before the power was restored, I went to the kitchen and put the milk and butter in the freezer and put some ice packs near the fruit. Fortunately, the AC had been on. I'm glad that I hadn't been cooking or ironing. I'm glad that the power outage didn't pose any real problem other than I missed an episode of "I Spy". I imagine that somewhere, someone was in the middle of a task that required electricity. There's been a lot of anger toward PEPCO, especially in cases like today where there was no storm, no thunder or lightening, no rain, yet the power failed. PEPCO had just been a topic on the news. Apparently they know their service hasn't been up to par and their national ranking among power companies isn't favorable. The bottom line is, whether their service is poor or outstanding, customers have to depend upon them. That's not reassuring, but now that we know there's a problem, it would be wise to have a contingency plan in place.

You really can be going along, minding your business and without provocation, lose power. It makes sense to be prepared--whether the loss of power is physical or spiritual. It's good to recognize that it's out, and when you do, don't get all frazzled and worried. Don't be gripped by fear. Don't think things are hopeless. Just wait. Occupy the time, know your options, stay alert, stay in control. Know that the source has infinite power and will restore it to you. Just ask.

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