Last night the power went out. Usually, this isn’t a big deal, but when the power goes out on our street in Jakarta, Indonesia, it is pitch black and eerily silent. When the power goes out, the air conditioners and fans stop pushing out cool air. The hum of bug zappers, dehumidifiers, and air purifiers suddenly stop.
The silence is deafening when the power goes out except for the mosquito that occasionally flies by my sweaty face or the taps of gecko feet running up the wall. When the power goes out, I can’t see my hand in front of my face, and I never know how long the darkness will last.
Last night when the power went out, I was angry at the heat, annoyed by the bugs, and scared by what I could not see.
With worries swirling around me like the relentless mosquitoes, I remembered that while my power source was broken, I could still find light. Whether it was from a candle, a battery-operated flashlight, or the glow of a charged iPad, there was light.
With just a glimmer of light, my family found each other, fears melted away, and the critters were out of sight. With each other, we could withstand the heat, fill the silence with laughter, and make it through until our tiny corner of the world was working again.
Life is complicated, messy, and overwhelming. But I promise there is always light, even in the darkest of nights.
What is a source of light when your world is dark?
