The Days Without Internet

Pss. 55:8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

The Days Without...

Well, my internet has been out three going on four days now. It went out late Saturday night during the storm. Storm? What storm? First…

Saturday we went to his nephews wedding. It was an odd wedding like none I’ve ever been to. The bride/groom wore white tip tennis shoes. You know like the Converse high-tops only they weren’t high tops? The invitation never stated ‘informal wedding’ so I wore my ankle length dress and sandals. It’s in style and can be worn as formal or informal so I felt I looked nice. Everyone else looked nice too except for the two or three that wore almost butt baring short mini-skirts with white tip tennis shoes mind you.

The very short ceremony was held at a reception hall, by I do believe, a female justice of the peace. A wedding/reception if you will. The vows took about ten minutes and poof the bride, groom and bridal party left afterward. The sign said they’d be back at six. They all had left to get pictures taken and went over to a park a few miles down the road.

So it was about 3:30 when they left and they’d return at six! Before the ceremony and after the ceremony we were treated to very loud rock music by the likes of AC/DC, Kiss, some Reo Speedwagon and such. You get the picture. The bride’s family were bikers and the groom’s side of the family are of the Baptist nature. While I did grow up on that type of music and it was all too familiar to me, it was interesting though, watching his aunt endure the noise.

The groom’s mom and dad aren’t church goers so they seemed to enjoy or at least bear with the whole kit and kaboodle. We had to sit and wait the two and a half hours close to three, smelling the food cooking in the background. We were all starving so that didn’t help. I’d go outside and look around at the scorching parking lot and feel the brisk winds to let myself know I was still here on the planet earth. A few had gathered outside where they had booze in the trunks of their car. One man who was already feeling his liquor commented on my skirt blowing up and I just smiled. How sweet. (not)

By this time my stomach was cramping so bad from eating Reese’s cups that were on the table; the only thing to eat while waiting. The bridal party had finally returned! We had to wait another twenty minutes while they all got to the food first. Then it was our turn to stand in line, and finally, food! Spare ribs and chicken and some delicious salads, which is all I ate. I didn’t touch the ribs or chicken.

I did like the party favors though, little Converse high-top tennis shoes in every color of the rainbow. I took three, sue me, I was bored. I was asked more times than once when WE (Steven and I) were taking the plunge. After eleven years, no proposal and witnessing THIS wedding? I NEVER want to marry again! Seriously! While I love the kids, the sanctity of marriage is a little more than… oh never mind.

By eight o’clock we were more than ready to go home. As we approached the road home, we could see the sky blackened and lightning off in the distance, probably nearing our house. As we got closer and closer to the house the winds had picked up and drops of rain the size of my hand had begun falling. I was feeling uneasy.

We pulled up to the door, parked pretty close to the steps, and we proceeded to go in the house. By the time Adam put his foot in the door (Adam was the last one in) hail began to pummel the house. It beat for far too long for me and we began worrying about his mother and sister and them driving home right into this stuff.

Can I ask something? Why do people have cell phones if they’re going to leave them off and let voicemail pick up? What’s the point?

We were assessing the damage caused by the golf ball sized hail when his sister called. They made it home only to witness her daughters car get whopped by a baseball size hailstone and bust out the rear window of her car. They couldn’t stand around looking because the hail just kept coming. They all made it home safe.

Well now, that’s exciting for a day isn’t it? Well that wasn’t it…

About two hours passed and we went to bed while lightning like a strobe-light lit up the sky! We knew we were in for a big one because my Weatherbug said so. Now I go out quick and rest for a good eight hours before I wake but by 11:30 I was jilted awake by thunder, lightning and WIND. High winds! High enough for me to be scared outta my wits! With computers off, I relied on my emergency radio.

Once on, we listened as tornado warnings were all around us. The winds howled, the house shook, water came in wherever there was a crack, I saw a small branch that looked like a tree fly by the window, leaves were being tossed around like a windy fall day. Me? I prayed.

I went and sat on the sofa clutching my bible in my hands and continued to pray as the roaring wind went on and on all around me. Tick tock there goes the clock, anticipation as I could hear the wind slowing it’s pace and the thunder rolling away from us.

I remembered my last words to my friend on facebook before the second storm hit, “I’m protected.” I had signed off with a goodnight and God Bless and that was the last I saw of the internet.

Sunday I awoke still cramped. (I never eat chocolate so I guess my stomach knew I had ate something foreign to my system.) The sun had not yet risen but there was enough morning light for me to see. My back lawn was covered in leaves and branches, not big branches but heavy enough to have to put in our wagon to move. My neighbor’s house had a big branch lying across the roof, where it had damaged a portion of her chimney.

I turned on my computer, not surprising, no internet. Still reeling in pain, I couldn’t even THINK of going to church. Oh I thought of God and I sang soft praises and thanked Him for protecting me. I knew He would and after hearing of all the devastation with downed power lines and silo’s toppled, farm crops shredded to pieces, I knew I was protected from something bigger that had gone on out there.

The days without internet. The guys of the house are antsy although they won’t admit it. Adam read an actual book. Steven played his computer game but not without calling the service provider first who told us they’d send someone out by Wednesday, he checked the modem once or twice too. Me? I’m relishing the time without it! I’ve tended my ripped apart garden, de-weeded in spots, I’ve played chess and solitaire, cooked a nice meal and just enjoyed the quiet relaxing pace of life with no net! Brought back a lot of memories of my life BEFORE the internet came into my life.

Isolation

Pss.102: 7  I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.

As you all know, or should if you read my blog often enough, I live out in the middle of nowhere. I am in a writers haven; a dream locale with an isolation factor that writers can only dream about living.

Sometimes it’s too isolated leaving me alone with my thoughts; dangerous by all means, my thoughts and me. You would have thought that three days with no internet I would have gotten a lot of writing done but no, didn’t write one thing! I was too worried about if I’d ever connect with the outside world again to want to write.

I live out here on a zillion acre (exaggeration) run down, closed down turkey ranch. To the north of me I have a neighbor who works nights and sleeps days. To the south of me, behind a huge ‘mill’ and shed, I have another neighbor that lives in a trailer. I never see any of them much but I know they’re there.

To the east of me I see a rolling cornfield (what did you expect, it’s Nebraska). In the winter they’ll bring in cows to mow and fertilize the field for next season. To the west of me, you guessed it, another thousand acres of cornfield!

I grew up in Baltimore city and lived in Texas for six years and everything in the city is at your fingertips. The assessable means of living spoil you. If you want a soda (called pop out here in the mid-west) you could run right down the street and grab one. Here, you better have one in the fridge or your plum outta luck, a twenty-mile trek for sure.

How did people out here ever survive, I ask myself? Very humbly, I must say. I have learned why they call this ‘the bible-belt’ that’s for sure. They have nothing but God, His land, corn, His blessing, and football, God’s choice of sport? Wink wink Husker fans!

Living in the middle of nowhere has really taught me a lot about priorities in life. Living in isolation without the internet taught me a few things also. As Adam was grumping all over the place, beau moped even during football, and me, I just played chess to take my mind to a safe calm place. Not that I wasn’t feeling irritable; I just chose to wrap myself in a warm blanket called chess to keep me comforted.

When the internet came back on, Adam had an epiphany, “Now I know why there was no internet, we needed a break, all three of us!” I went on to explain that is what fasting does for the soul, the same feeling he had from no communication with the outside world; the time of reflection, is the exact feeling you get when you fast. He had never understood fasting and me but this weekend he had a light bulb moment!

What message will you walk away with today? Isolation deepens your spiritual journey! It awakens everything in you that sleeps. It carries you on a joyful hayride. Sure there’s the manure lingering, but when you get off the ride, you feel refreshed; cleansed.

Welcome October! Message received!

“Solitude is a chosen separation for refining your soul. Isolation is what you crave when you neglect the first.”
~ Wayne Cordeiro

 

 

Retreat

“Ships in the harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” 

~ John Shedd

I had used the term loosely last week. It means: the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion. I had written for two weeks straight, post after post and thoughts of new posts were popping in my head like Jiffy Pop popcorn.

The weeklong posts of Truth were very draining on the mind, body, and soul. It took me places I hadn’t thought about because I was safely in a comfort zone, a harbor if you will. I had a second post for Friday, but never got it posted. I guess it just wasn’t necessary to drive it home.

In it I thanked the person who posted that dinosaur stuff on my wall because it made me look deep within myself. In the end, I still didn’t agree with the person, but that’s okay, we’re allowed to think differently. I needed to reflect on the Truth posts I had posted.

The two weeks of posts pretty much talked about addiction to the net, prioritizing and such, and Friday’s culmination of putting the whole puzzle together; we had a God slap moment. That’s the term we use for when it feels like God slaps you upside the head and actually forces you to see just what it is you needed to see.

When I said I would retreat, I just meant pull back, slow down a bit, look around, drink in the beauty and harmonious world around me: cows mooing, leaves falling, winds gusting. It was a seasonal end to all the heat and vibrancy of summer. Summer was falling asleep and autumn was washing over and awakening me.

Normally when I fast, I choose not to eat meat, my choice. I don’t eat much in the way of meat anyway so really I’m fooling myself but not God. But when God hears your plea for a needful peaceful quiet retreat, you best believe He has a way of making you understand; a God-slap moment.

On Friday right before I was going to post my second post, the internet cut out. ‘Okay’ I thought, ‘it’ll be back on soon.’ We waited and waited…and waited. By Monday it was still not on, and didn’t return until 6:15 p.m.! I automatically assumed I just wasn’t meant to post that post.

Being a recovered alcoholic, I knew the signs of withdrawal. Grumpy, irritable, antsy, sweaty palms the works. To keep myself busy, I played chess; probably over a hundred games in three days. I was keeping my head about me.

Adam was angry, my man was ‘trying’ to act all calm, but come Sunday, the anger shot out like a rifle shot seeking a deer to kill! I was irritable but not angry to the extent of lashing out, until the anger was slung at me. Talk about addiction! It was obvious the repercussions of having no internet was having an effect on all of us.

Come Monday and the run around from the internet provider: “Turn off your computer and modem and restart.” Then they said, “We’ll get someone out there NEXT TUESDAY.”  (slaughtered the punctuation on THAT one, eh Deb?) ;)

That’s what they told my man at 9 a.m. but I called in the afternoon and they sang a whole different song. “It’s not YOUR computer, it’s the tower! (the signal bearer) We’re working on it now!”  By 6:15 I heard a scream from behind me as I was washing up dinner dishes planning for a quiet evening of movie watching; Adam was elated!

His IPOD and IPAD didn’t work, so he lost communication to his ‘girlfriend’ in Pa. AND his homework. My man didn’t get to check the stats on his ‘fantasy football’ team, and we had to resort to good old fashioned Bible reading with a, get this, hand-held Bible!

By Sunday I was settling in to this ‘God enforced retreat’, Monday I felt like I had PMS three times over, but I sure got a lot more cleaning of nooks-and-crannies done! I reflected. Two weeks straight of posting and now a quite humbling retreat. This weeks posts will be about what I learned from zoning out!