We pulled into the driveway, covering the last few feet uphill on our 2300-mile trek to Texas and back. Our vacation to see family was a fun-filled food-a-rama, but we are spent like a well-worn wallet—which was certainly worn well on this trip. All we wanted was a home-cooked meal and a familiar bed after our journey. We wanted home.

My husband hit the garage door opener and waited. Nothing happened. He hit it again, and nothing. After the third try, the emergency generator beside the house roared to life and the door opened.

Great. No power.

Did I miss an electric bill while we were gone? The apprehension swelled.

Thank the Lord we have that generator!

I jumped out of the van and our next-door neighbor peeked through the shrubbery.

“Is your power out, too?” she asked.

Whew! I didn’t miss a bill.

“Yep,” I replied.

She gazed at our generator with a touch of envy. The whole street was out of power. Apparently a tree fell on the power line just outside our neighborhood right after we passed by. The wind from our Honda Odyssey must have been the final straw causing the massive limb to give way.

We were the only house with electricity for miles.

We went inside and carried on with life as usual. Cooked some dinner. Unloaded the car. Showered. Caught up on the mail.

As the sun set over our little village, I peeked out the window and saw nothing but darkness. It was the kind of pitch-black scene that can make a grown woman shudder, but we were calm and cool in our well-lit abode. Hours passed and that generator kept us quite comfy in a sea of hot, sticky darkness.

What keeps you going when the world around you grows dim?

What keeps you lit inside?

Believers in Christ have a hope that the world doesn’t have. We have a light that will not fail when every other connection loses its power. That light is Jesus. He shines brightest when all around us is dim. He will roar to life when the darkness threatens to overtake you . . . if you let Him. If you’re connected to Him.

Stay connected.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12