She flipped the switch—but the lights didn’t come on. 

The day we left for Florida, half of our kitchen lights decided to go on strike. My wife tried exercising the light switches and I checked the breaker box. No evidence of anything gone wrong. 

I scanned the web for possible causes and fixes. Though I’m no electrician, I knew I could at least buy identical switches and replace the old ones, should they have worn out. This, I did. Alas, we were still in the dark (in more ways than one). 

That’s when a friend at church referred me to a retired Christian electrician who agreed to come out and survey the situation. Two and a half hours later, he finally…ur…shed some light on the mystery.

When I got out my check book to pay the guy, he refused me. I said, “That’s not fair for you to work for free. It’s not right.” Yet he insisted I keep the money. I replied, “But I don’t want to take advantage of you. In fact, I’d like you to feel comfortable if I were to call you with another problem.”

His reply was memorable: “You’re welcome to call me every day for the rest of your life. And if you really want to give money, find somebody in need. Give them a generous gift.”  Then, under the fully restored kitchen lights, we prayed together—asking that God would lead me to the right person.

An electrician not for hire. He was God’s blessing to us. And now, we’re looking to bless someone else. 

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

-Luke 6:38