Keep on the lights of hope in 2015

by Sarah-Leah Pimentel · January 4, 2015

Load shedding has had us all pulling our hair out over the last few weeks. The recurring power outages have disrupted our lives in one way or another.

Load shedding is bringing us down�but it also has an upside. (Photo: morguefile)

The planned power outages in my area, for instance, are set from 20:00-22:30�exactly that time of day when I�ve just come home from work and am planning to have something warm for dinner. Instead, I�ve found myself eating cheese sandwiches and cold salads far more regularly than I�d planned.

One Friday I had some friends over for dinner, and instead of one of my famous quiches, I resorted to an assortment of biscuits, dips, cheese, cold meats and a salad.

I�m sure there isn�t a single reader who hasn�t had lots to say about our power situation�a crisis that is far more serious and extends far beyond the small inconveniences to our personal lives. But perhaps, despite the frustration of having our lights turned off, we can find some mustard seeds in Eskom�s crisis as we step into this new year.

In his homily at the start of Advent, our parish priest told us how someone had come to him and said that the load shedding had improved the quality of his family life. The distractions of television, the Internet and computer games, which normally kept the various family members ensconced in different rooms of the house, suddenly fell away.

Having nothing to do, the family gathered in the lounge�by candlelight�and spent time together. They talked. They played games. They experienced the togetherness of family.

A few days later, my boss made the same comment. He said that he�d spent more time with his teenage children in a month of power outages than in the whole year prior to that.

This got me thinking. What are the distractions in my life that keep me from doing the things that are truly important? Perhaps there are some bad habits I can cull in 2015, or find better ways of spending quality time with the people who are most important to me.

Or perhaps the real challenge for the New Year is to look at things in a different light. Just as my boss saw the Eskom load shedding as an opportunity for family time, perhaps there are other so-called negatives in our lives that can become a positive if we see them with the eyes of practical faith. Here are some examples:

If I am unemployed: How about using some of the free time in between job hunting to help out at my local church or community projects, instead of lying at home feeling increasingly desperate about my situation.

If I am ill and bed-ridden: We spend our youth wishing we had more time to pray for others, to deepen our relationship with God. Instead of succumbing to the bitterness of no longer being independent, perhaps this is a unique opportunity to become a force of prayer for healing and peace for the many who ask for our prayers.

If I am overwhelmed by rampant corruption in South Africa: Instead of only criticising and complaining about those at the top who misuse public money, let me become a good custodian of the resources that are entrusted to me�starting with the communal coffee and sugar in our office, but also making a concerted effort to work hard during the hours my employer pays me to work, by doing each task, no matter how small, to the best of my ability.

We�ll still have load shedding in 2015. Similarly, our personal situations may not change. But the attitude with which we encounter the negative, painful and frustrating circumstances in our lives will, at the very least, reduce our stress levels.

Better yet, our new attitude will show others that we are children of light, the light of hope that came into the world at Christmas and which we take into the New Year.

I wish all Southern Cross readers a truly blessed 2015!