Out of Power

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” [John 15:4]

The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was the second most widespread power outage in history. On the 14th day of a sweltering August, at approximately 4:10 p.m., parts of eight northeast states and Ontario, Canada, lost all electricity. That evening an estimated 55 million people went without power, as more than 508 generating units at 265 power plants shut down. For up to 25 hours, the blackout interrupted our modern way of life.

Thousands of people were stranded by the blackout. Airports canceled flights – traffic control centers were offline, passengers could no longer be screened, and electronic ticket information was unavailable. Amtrak service was stopped, and many gas stations were unable to pump gas. In New York City, traffic lights went out, causing a gridlock nightmare. Many commuters were stranded in the city overnight, and some slept in parks and on the steps of public buildings. Hundreds of people were trapped in elevators, as well as in stopped subway cars.

Cellular circuits were overloaded, and in some cases backup generators at cellular sites ran out of fuel. In New York City, even 9-1-1 was out of service for several 15-minute periods throughout the evening. Water supply was affected when electric pumps failed – residents in Detroit, Lansing, and Cleveland were instructed to boil their water for the next four days. In addition, sewage pumps failed, causing untreated sewage to flow into rivers and waterways near Lansing, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Newark, and Kingston, Ontario. Unfortunately, the blackout even contributed to as many as eleven deaths. It also caused fear that blackouts might be used during a terrorist attack.

As often happens, a task force was given the job of discovering what went wrong. Eventually, industry experts reported that old and inadequate grid connections were to blame.

Life is all about our connections with family and friends, but the most important connection is with God. Just as our modern way of life grinds to a halt without sufficient electricity, our spiritual life is unsustainable when we’re disconnected – our inner peace, outer witness, and ultimate salvation all depend upon a solid relationship with our Maker. Nothing could be more important than getting connected today!