“Be still, and know that I am God!” -Psalm 46:10

Last week, I got home from work around 8 p.m. I discovered that there was a power outage. There was still some daylight left. I couldn’t go online and I couldn’t play with any technology. In other words . . . I had nothing to do!

I decided to go for a walk around my neighborhood. It was great. Families were spending time together, sitting on their front porches with candles, flashlights, and lanterns. Couples were walking the neighborhood and enjoying each others company. Everyone was waving and saying hello as I passed them, many of them making jokes about the power outage.

I enjoyed that walk more than I have enjoyed any walk I’ve taken in a long time. I enjoyed the scenery more than I have in a long time, I enjoyed my neighborhood more than I ever had, and I spent a lot of time praying and reflecting on life. It made me very grateful for the power outage for several reasons:

The power outage forced people to focus on being instead of doing, it showed us how dependent on technology we are, it showed us that we can survive without a night of technology, and it forced people to slow down and enjoy life and their families without any distractions.

The Power Outage helped everyone focus on what is important.

The experience made me wish we had scheduled power outages. Nights with no technology, nights to go for a walk, nights to just sit on the deck with the people I love most and laugh the night away, nights to get quiet before God or to pour my heart out to Him.

In fact, why don’t we all schedule our own power outages once a week? Let’s shut off the cell phones, tv’s, & lap tops and focus on what is really important: friends, family, and God.

Why not schedule it right now?

⁴¹“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41,42

One of my favorite leadership lessons is “Focus by Asking” by Bob Biehl. In the lesson, Bob shared a conversation that went like this:

Bob’s Friend: “I’ve been asking myself one question for three years.

Bob: “One question – for three years? What is it?”

Bob’s Friend: “What’s important?”

Bob: “What have you been finding?”

Bob’s Friend: “Less and Less“

God’s really been dealing with my heart about what is important in life and the answer really is – less and less! In a world where we constantly have millions of ideas, concepts, items, theories, and people demanding our attention, we often find our focus spread thin.

I believe God wants to reveal to us what is important to Him, which according to Jesus, is one thing! If we’ll learn what that one thing is and make that our focus, I believe all the other arenas of our lives will take care of themselves. So over the next few days I want to unwrap this thought of figuring out what is important.

Thoughts?