I was enjoying a nice, hot shower when the electricity went off right in the middle of it. My first thought was that TCLH had turned the lights off in the bathroom, either accidentally not realizing I was in there, or purposefully as a joke, but then I looked at the light on the shower pump which was now off and noticed the dwindling flow of water and knew that it was a power outage.
I scrambled to get the suds out of my hair knowing that the water would soon be trickling to a stop in a matter of minutes, since they are connected. No electricity = no water. Instead of praying for the day, for fruitfulness, productivity and for other needs, my morning prayer quickly became a frantic plea, “Lord, please bring back the electricity so I can dry my hair and get to the office on time!”
Had this been a special occurrence in Albania and knowing that it was April 1st, I would have thought that it was some guy who works at the electric company’s idea of a bad April Fool’s joke.
But this is an all too common reality in Albania– the electricity being cut off at random, unpredictable times for minutes or hours at a time, causing stress and interruptions to our days. It is part of the adventure of living in Albania and seen in a positive light, helps to build character and endurance. Sometimes though, I wonder if I really need that much character.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (James 1:2-4, The Message)
Here’s to a character-building beginning of April!
P.S. The power did come back on just in time for me to dry my hair and get out the door!
Photo courtesy of: Viditu
