Last week, in the wake of a tropical storm, the power went out at my home one morning. My husband and I both work primarily from home, and my son attends his high school classes online. But not that day! No power meant no internet, of course.
To add to the fun, both roads that lead from our neighborhood were blocked by downed trees, so we couldn’t even drive to my husband’s office five miles away, to jump on the internet there.
At first, all three of us were completely at loose ends. Many of our usual morning activities revolve around being able to, you know, use electricity! So we wandered around the house, running into the dogs and fruitlessly flicking on light switches out of habit.
Soon, though, around the time the sun started really coming in the windows, we settled down. My son and I snuggled up on the couch and read together, while my husband fired up the camping stove to cook breakfast.
As we all spent time together that morning, I saw again that, though we celebrate the internet for connecting us to people far away, that same internet can be an obstacle when it comes to being with the people in our own homes.
How can we be more intentional about choosing to live our lives in connection and communion with the people who are right here, right now?
