The Sounds of Life
The church building is eerily quiet this today. I spend a lot of time here, including many hours when no one else is around, but even in those times there are sounds. The hum of the refrigerators, the warm air sighing through the heating system, the ring of the telephone, the beep of our many electronic components; these comprise a constant background. But not today.
Yesterday morning the utility company cut the electrical power to our facility so our contractor can replace our service hardware with new gear sufficient to include our Phase II addition. We will be without power three full days minimum. If there are unforeseen problems, it could be longer. The word is we will almost certainly have power restored before the weekend and we sincerely hope so.
It is very strange to sit here in this quiet place. I have my coat and stocking cap on since there is no heat, and there are a lot of windows in our office so there is no problem seeing. I could have worked from home, like the rest of the staff, but I struggle to do that well. Plus, this is an unprecedented situation and I wanted to experience it.
The quiet is especially unusual because this is Tuesday, by far the busiest day of the week. All of the staff are normally in, coordinating at the start of a new week. The twenty or so tots of the homeschool co-op troop in next, backpacks flopping as they tromp up the stairs. Close on their heels are the gals of the Tuesday morning women’s Bible study, with the wonderful sound of their conversation and laughter. About noon, they head out while the men’s group heads in for their weekly gathering. There is a lull in the late afternoon as the building catches its breath before the 100 or so folks of our Awana program roll in for the evening. Finally, around 8:30pm, the lights are turned off and the building quiets down for the night.
Today, all of that is canceled. The building will sit quiet all day. There won’t be any cleaning needed, but a church building that doesn’t get dirty is a tragedy. So today, I will enjoy the quiet of this unusual Tuesday. But I praise God that all the busy, noisy, messy life will return next week!
Pastor Toby
Categories: Evergreen Connection