Plugging in
At our house, we have a whole drawer in our kitchen designated solely for cords. It seems nearly everything we own needs its own charging cord. There are cell phone cords (of varying lengths and differing degrees to which they still function). Cords that re-charge our watches, others that connect to an iPad, and still another that plugs into a Kindle.
Even though we have a cordless drill and saw that are stored in our garage… guess what? They still have batteries that have to be plugged in to re-charge. Even our six-month-old son has his own set of toys and accessories and sound machines that all have their own chargers. Sometimes I feel like my days are a constant cycle of plugging and unplugging any and everything we own so that each item will operate as it’s supposed to.
That’s sort of the funny thing about all these devices, isn’t it? They’ll only function for so long without needing to be plugged in. We’ve made plenty of strides in the world of technology over the last few decades—just think about how much our use of electronics has changed over the years. But somehow no one has been able to devise a cell phone that has infinite battery power. To my knowledge, there has yet to be an invention of a laptop that never needs charging.
In reality, nearly every electronic device is only as useful as the person who remembers to charge them regularly. You can own the newest gadget or fanciest electric car but it will be rendered useless if it isn’t recharged regularly.
And I’m pretty certain the same thing could be said for human beings. We were made in the image of God, knit together perfectly by our Creator… and yet God still factored in the necessary time of recharging. No matter how much we may wish it wasn’t so, God made rest a mandatory part of our everyday lives. God thought it was so important it was even spoken as one of the 10 Commandments—remember the need for Sabbath, for rest.
One of my favorite passages of scripture comes from The Message paraphrase of Matthew’s gospel. Jesus says: “Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest and [how to] learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”
If the drawer of cords in my kitchen tells me anything—it’s that rest and recharging is a necessary part of life. In fact, when it comes to our lives of faith, it might be one of the most important things we can do.
Ronda Bird
❤️
Audrey Keeney
Great reminder of our need for recharging!
Fred Quam
Katy-very good message and have to add that as you get older you need longer recharging times.
Dee Hillyer
That’s what I love about St Paul’s. Your sermons & blogs help me recharge for what’s ahead.