We all have priorities.
Even doing nothing is making a decision and setting a priority.
Work, projects, and hobbies can all do good – but they can also move us, inch by inch, from what should be our true priorities.
The last week has been an education for me.
Storm Eowyn hit Northern Ireland late Thursday/early Friday. It was ferocious.
We were in a hotel in Derry/Londonderry (for my birthday). We had to stay an extra 7 hours because the storm was so bad it was literally life-threatening. We left for home when the winds dropped to just 60mph. ????♂️ ????♂️ Off we went. We had to manoeuvre past 18 (!!) large fallen trees that each partially or fully blocked the main road to our town.
When we got home, we found that, like 300,000+ others, we had no power.
We live in a rural area. We were not at the top of the list for repair work (after the storm finished). So we started 4.5 days (power now back up – thank goodness) of… no power, no light, no heat (except for one small stove we lived around), no phone (our signal is so bad we need wifi calling to do anything), water pressure was reduced (we have weak water pressure so use a water pump – electric!), no broadband/TV etc.
In one night, we went from the 21st century to pretty close to medieval living. We went to bed when it got too dark to read, and we travelled to lovely friends who got us warm and showered (and recharged our device batteries). Messages came in from family and friends – what can we do, are you okay, etc.- but we were just one couple in a sea of homes.
Today, there are about 15,000 people still in this position.
What did I learn? One act of nature can remove everything. Gone. The miracle of flicking a switch and getting light is now more important to us. Being able to stay in touch and communicate (even if having to move to get a signal and messages) should never be underestimated. We are SO blessed in our lives, but often we don’t notice it. In lots of places around the world, this sudden change is permanent. When we watch the news, do we ever wonder how we would cope? I didn’t. And 4.5 days was bad enough.
Some interesting things I learned –
1. Learned behaviour. I was still switching the bathroom light on when I knew there was no power.
2. It’s amazing what you don’t notice when you just have candles! ???? ????
3. Without fast-flowing – and hot – water, life is complicated.
4. Family, neighbours and friends are what really matter.
5. A team were out in the dark and rain late last night, just so our power suddenly came on again. Then they moved to the next job, we never saw them…
Life is for living, but don’t diminish your true priorities.
I am working on a big project (you know who you are!). I lost all of those days of work. Guess what? The world didn’t stop turning on its axis. Things continued. Today, I am catching up. Life carries on.