There is a specific kind of silence that happens when the grid fails in a small town. No fridge hum, no furnace rattle—just the wind howling across the Saskatchewan prairie. But the oddest part of the night wasn't the blackout; it was my phone suddenly giving up the ghost at 8% charge. It wouldn't recharge or even flicker, despite being plugged into a backup battery. It just stayed dark.
That’s when I heard the nudge in my heart: "Listen to the radio."
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| A prairie storm reminds us of the light Thomas Shipley brought to human history and the beauty of the Creator's timing. |
I picked up my trusty crank radio and started turning the handle, generating a small beam of light and a crackle of static in the shadows. I tuned in just in time to catch the tail end of an interesting tale on Our American Stories. It was a story about a man named Thomas Shipley.
Who was Thomas Shipley?
I’d never heard the name before, but the timing felt like a clear tap on the shoulder from the Creator. Thomas Shipley was a Christian abolitionist in the 1800s. He wasn't just a man of words; he was a man of radical action.
As a Quaker, Shipley believed with every fibre of his being that every person was created equal, carrying the "Inner Light" of God. While the world around him was filled with the darkness of slavery and kidnapping, Shipley stood his ground. He used his own body as a shield during riots and spent his life in courtrooms fighting for the freedom of those the world tried to ignore.
Light in the Darkness
There I was, in the middle of a literal prairie storm, cranking for a tiny bit of light, hearing about a man who was a beacon of light in a much grimmer storm of human history.
It’s a reminder that the Creator’s timing is always perfect. When my "modern" power cut out at that odd 8%, the Ruach HaKodesh led me to a story about a different kind of power—the power of a person who knows their worth and the worth of their neighbour. Shipley didn't need a power grid; he had a soul-deep connection to the truth.
Sometimes we need the lights to go out so we can finally hear what we’re supposed to. If you’re sitting in the dark tonight, whether it’s a power outage or just a hard season of life, keep cranking. The light is coming, and the message you need to hear is already on the airwaves. We just have to tune in.
"For you light my lamp; ADONAI my God lights up my darkness." — Tehillim (Psalms) 18:29 CJB
Digging Deeper
If you are curious about the life of this remarkable man, I discovered a book on Amazon by Isaac Parrish that provides a moving portrait of his courage and faith:
This classic reprint offers a window into the dangers and daily work of these reformers. It’s a powerful read for anyone interested in how principled activism, grounded in faith, can change the world.
About the Author
Sister Su is a survivor through her Saviour and has been blessed to see many miracles in her life. Currently digging her way out from under a mountain of debt while battling chronic illness, she dreams of one day earning her doctorate in practical theology.
For more information, visit her Linktree- Sister_Su.
