Last spring, I was speaking with one of my daughters about my latest off grid project. I told her the original milking parlor has now become the "Power House" and a new milking parlor was established.
A couple of weeks ago, a grid power line came down, so we found ourselves without power, but the wind was amazing! Now, there isn't enough battery storage, yet to maintain being fully off grid, but the wind was a definite bonus that night. As a matter of fact, even with a small battery bank, Adonai provided enough wind to keep the entire house functioning at full capacity, including the heat pump! All of this took me back to that conversation I'd had with my daughter, months earlier.
As we were awkwardly chatting as that is our established pattern, I was grasping for a topic and that's how the new Power House project came up. Now in looking back, our conversations are nearly always about what the kids are doing, what I'm doing, and who/what she is analyzing . . . This conversation was no exception. I told her about a bigger turbine, having the big boom truck set the pole, etc. then just casually included. "All we need now is a $1000.00 worth of batteries and we're set." She immediately interjected that a thousand dollars worth of batteries seemed expensive. I just dismissed it as her usual disparaging comments and went on with life, but now in taking note of my electric bill and knowing I was fully powered up when the line came down, I feel pretty blessed to have spent that $1000 dollars the way I did.
Now, comparing my expense to her lifestyle, I'm thinking this $1000.00 was an actual investment. Adonai willing, the batteries will last for years, whereas $1000.00 in her hand, I don't think covers the monthly rent. I realize things in this world are temporal, but as long as we are in this world, I don't think there's anything wrong with making some investments that will last, even if we are looking at temporary verses eternal. I'm thankful to have no mortgage and no rent, but my house and lifestyle would not be good enough for many. That's okay, it's more than good enough for me.
As I thought of being able to switch over to our off grid power and how truly blessed I am. I continued to see clients, do laundry, and as mentioned previously, enjoy a warm house. And the great thing about investing rather than rent is the differing perspective on temporal. Apparently, for my daughter, it's all temporary, so there is no need to consider long term purchases or investment, but from my perspective, rent removes the "temporal" option. If a person wants shelter and is choosing to rent, that option seems more like bondage, to me.
If I live another 25 years, as far as housing goes, all I have to concern myself with is maintenance and taxes. If I were paying rent, that concern would be quite pricey, not to mention potentially ever increasing. Now, as I can afford it, I like to add to the battery bank. It was nice to know, with offgrid power I could still offer care, comfort, refreshments, and if the power grid shutdown had been wide spread, several of us could have weathered it fairly comfortably together. Everything in this world is temporal, so why pay for it for a lifetime?
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