When We Had No Power

A Lesson Learned in the Dark

If you’re new to Raising Myles, Welcome!

I write letters to my newborn son, Myles, sharing my journey as a first-time dad and spreading the love I didn't experience myself. If you’ve been here before — thank you for coming back. If you’re new here, below are some good places to start:

• Most Recent Letter: God, Fathers, and the Space Between

• Am I Good Dad, or Is the Bar Just Really Low?

• We Don’t Eat Cats and Dogs

• Starting Daycare: I Never Knew it Would be this Hard

17 Months

Dear Myles, 

A couple of months ago, we had no power. 

Writing that sentence feels funny—like we had no power for a whole week. Even though it was only for a day, the Alabama heat that made its way through our home—while you crawled around in just your diaper, me in my underwear, and us having to sleep in a hotel that night—made it feel like a week. I’ll spare you the details as to why we had no power, but long story short, the work that was supposed to be done by a certain time wasn’t.

Our stove is gas, but the igniter is electric. So, we decided to accept the electrician's offer to pay for a hotel night and our dinner, even though it wasn’t his fault—it was the power company’s. He said he knew what it was like to have a baby and no power.

We go back to the house after dinner for clothes and toiletries, and it’s so dark out that we can only see our home’s silhouette under the lonely streetlight. Realizing this step should have happened before dinner, we use our phones' flashlights to guide us inside. We light candles, fumble for actual flashlights, and set you down while you crawl behind us as we pack the necessary items for the night: soap, diapers, clothes, milk, sleepwear, and more. We drive downtown and stay the night in a hotel, and for this night, it almost feels like we are on vacation.

In the morning, your mother has to work, so she stays behind at the hotel while you and I drive back home to let the electrician in. When the electrical work is done, we still have no power because the power company can’t connect it right away—conveniently, today is the day they are having a staff training, but they assure us it will be restored later in the day. We leave to pick up your mother from the hotel and take the 20-minute drive downtown, the AC on full blast. Just as I am about to exit the highway, I feel frustrated because I miss the light and don’t want to keep your mother waiting. As I wait for the light to turn green, I glance to my right and, through the shrubs, see people living in makeshift boxes. I realize—they haven’t had power either, and for much longer than us.

And then I remember—just a week before, while driving with the electrician to get materials for the job, he told me he made a lot of money last year as we rode in his beautiful blue Ford F-150. I did the math, and it was more than three times what I made this year. I joked that maybe I should become an electrician too. A little further down the road, we started talking about family, and then he laid it on me—eyes still on the road—he lost his 24-year-old son last year. I said I was sorry, and in that moment, I’d never felt a stronger desire to hug a man I’d only met an hour ago.

I understand now what the electrician meant when he said he knew what it was like to have a son and no power. I guess the first sentence isn’t funny at all. There’s no telling how long the people on the side of the road have been without power, or how the electrician would trade all the money in his pocket and his beautiful blue Ford F-150 for the power to have his son back. Or how easily we could be on the side of the road, with no home, no son, no you—powerless.

I’m reminded that even though we have the lights on, we still have no power. In these moments, I’m reminded of the unmerited grace and favor that has been extended to us—that the true power comes from the Son.

I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Love, 

Daddy

---

If you can’t commit to a monthly subscription, but still want to support Myles’ college plan, here is my Buy Me a Coffee page.

Let me know your thoughts:

1. When was the last time you had a moment where you thought, “Wow, life’s been good to me”?

2. If you had to unexpectedly spend a night away from home, what’s the one thing you’d need to make it feel like a “vacation”?

3. When was the last time you were reminded of the unmerited grace and favor in your own life? How did it change your outlook?

4. Do we really have power?