The waves of life

Back in July, I was blessed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of this great country, the United States of America, at the beautiful beaches at Panama City Beach, Florida. As always, the beaches were gorgeous, and the fireworks show was wonderful.

The fireworks show appeared to go on for miles up and down the beach, but I know it was not for miles. Regardless, the show was worthy of the milestone for the greatest country ever. The next day, I found myself back on the beach at sunset. As usual, God’s sunset was awesome.

As I faced westward toward the setting sun, a young boy caught my eye.

He looked to be around 5 or 6 years old. He did not have any toys, not even a sand bucket or a shovel. No siblings to play with. Mom and dad were sitting in their beach chairs, watching their boy and looking at their phones. This young boy stood at the edge of the water, hopping over waves as they receded into the Gulf of America. As he hopped over a wave, he excitedly entered the Gulf waters and then flopped down into the water. By then, the next wave was entering the shoreline, catching him square in the chest and rolling him backward toward the shoreline. The wave would just wipe him out. But with the same excitement he showed earlier, he sprang to his feet and hopped back up to the shoreline, only to repeat this activity again and again and again.

I watched him go through this process for approximately 45 minutes. The only toy he had was God’s beautiful creation and his joy in that creation. I began to think, “What if we carried the simple little game that young boy was playing into our personal and business life?”

Life is going to come at you in waves. Sometimes these waves are bigger than others, but all will knock us backward. Bigger waves will wipe us out harder, and it may take us longer to hop back to our feet and start over again. This even applies to your electric cooperative.

Throughout the summer, our linemen have to deal with extremely hot weather and afternoon thunderstorms that can cause a lot of outages. This time of year, they will get back to their feet, but it may not be with the same excitement the young boy showed. They do rise and wait for the next wave. The linemen’s excitement is knowing they have restored electrical service so members can return to their normal lives and the comfort electricity provides each of us.

We in the electric industry know there can be bigger waves of outages, but hopefully, I pray that we avoid the bigger waves for another year.

As we are closing another summer, your cooperative understands the difficult nature in paying the higher electric bills. As I have written over the past few months, the basic electricity rates at your cooperative have not increased in the past 11 years. The amount of electric power we use may have increased due to weather and by adding appliances or additional square footage to your home. Regardless of the event, a higher bill can be difficult to pay.

The cooperative, however, has tools to help you manage your electric use. So please call us about our app and our notification text on your daily electric usage. These tools will help you manage your usage, which will help you control your electric bill.

By the time this column is released, another football season will be here for our enjoyment. Each new season brings our excitement for another great season and, hopefully, a Natty (that means National Championship not a cold liquid refreshment in a can).

As the waves of life come crashing in on your chest and totally wipe you out, please know that Jesus Christ can be your savior. He can help us back to our feet and even carry us back into the waters of life. Just ask Him to save you.