The power went out in our building last night. Not on the block. Just in our building.
This is the second time this has happened. The first time it took about five hours to fix. This time it thankfully only took two. And you know, it was a bit of an inconvenience, especially since it had been snowing all day. But a friend of mine in the building invited me down to hers and I met two of her hall mates. We ranted about the power and other eccentricities of our living situation and had lots of laughs by the light of the emergency hall lights. I walked into our common room on the way back to my room and found people drinking beer and playing pool - it looked similar to a hurricane party.
The power quickly came back on thanks to our diligent wardens. However, the heating didn't turn on all night. This morning, I walked into my kitchen to find one of my hallmates warming her hands by the oven. Soon, the rest of my hall mates and I gathered around the stove like mosquitoes to a lamp. We found ourselves laughing as we boiled as much water as we could and warmed our hands by the fan oven.
Things go wrong, but that doesn't mean things are bad. It's amazing how good life can be when it's simple. We get so used to our little luxuries and our routines, but life goes on without them. And in fact, sometimes not having them brings us together.
Many people make arguments that cell phones, video games, tv shows, the internet, etc., have all separated us from each other. They say this technology is robbing us of intimacy and real relationships. Now I like all of these things I listed above; and I quite enjoy having them. But it's good to remember they're best in moderation.
Last semester I felt lonely a lot. I was skyping friends almost every day of the week, but when I turned my computer off, I found it was just me and that loneliness had been diminished only very little. I am incredibly grateful for technological advances, and that I can keep up with friends and keep those relationships going. But I think we cannot lose sight of the world around us and we certainly cannot replace it.
I always wonder what this means for our relationships with God. He is always with us but sometimes it feels like he is never there. We are not with him, not now. I used to feel like my relationship with God was a long distance relationship, just waiting till the day I get to Heaven and am with Him. Biding the meantime reading his words, and saying words in response.
But then, the Bible does say God is always there. And more and more, I think our relationship with God is not a long distance relationship at all. Yes, it is different than any relationship we know between man, but it is not long distance. God says, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you' (Hebrews 13:5). It sounds a bit new-agey, but I think God is that happiness from gathering together warming your hands by a stove; He is that relationship formed when all luxuries are gone. God's voice is described as a whisper. I think he is found, he is realized the most in those moments when we step away from all that our own hands have made and enjoy the simple things of life -- life as he created it.
Now, I'm not about to go join a convent myself. And I type this all on my beautiful computer with wireless internet. But just thinking out loud here.
To conclude, heating is back on, power is back on, my computer is back on (clearly) and I have work to do.
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