“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
Ah, summertime. It’s here, as of three days ago. Along with it comes extra sunshine…and extra heat. In the South, that means sultry days and sticky-hot nights.
But while temps outside may hover in the 90s, I luxuriate in the 70s indoors…thanks to the modern convenience of air conditioning, a true privilege that I appreciate more and more.
Up until the mid-twentieth century in America, only a few ultra-rich had ever felt air conditioning much less enjoyed it in their homes. Even today, most people around the world still don’t have the comfort of a cool artificial breeze on sizzling hot days…many retreat into a noonday siesta to avoid heat stroke under an unforgiving sun.
In America, though, if our air conditioning systems fail in the summertime, we quickly become desperate for a repairman. Even as I write this, my daughter is making a seven-hour drive through the American heartland without her air conditioning…once again, the compressor in her aging sedan has broken down. No fun, and definitely uncomfortable. Even though it’s the way things used to be, we are all rather spoiled now!
So if you go to work in an air-conditioned office, ride in an air-conditioned car or train, and sleep in an air-conditioned bedroom, thank God for this extraordinary privilege. It’s easy to take for granted until it breaks down, so be grateful for every moment of the creature comfort it provides. Thank your Heavenly Father for the people who invented ways to make air cooler so that we wouldn’t have to languish in scorching heat all summer long!
Thank You, dear God, for the blissful privilege of air conditioning. Thank You for providing this extraordinary comfort to keep us from wilting in summer heat waves. Make us grateful and humble before You, mindful and sympathetic to the impoverished who live without air conditioning. Help us not to take for granted the many unseen ways that You constantly take care of us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
#theprivilegedlife #lightbournecreative #thankful #privileged #gratitude #abundantlife #Christianprivilege #airconditioning #coolair #hotsummer #airconditioned
Nancy C. Williams 