And yet, and yet…

Ever have one of those mornings where you forget to charge your phone? I’ve had a few (OK, several) of those mornings lately. It’s always kind of demoralizing to break through the fog of sleep and fatigue to wrench yourself from bed, to wage war against getting the kids out the door, fighting the insufferable traffic of the commute, dealing with the avalanche of email that came in overnight, only to realize that your phone is at 18% charge. I hate seeing the notice that my battery is low, then having to add the stress of finding a charging cable (with the right charging port!) in addition to the horde of things barking at the door of my day.

Sometimes the plan is there to have an effective day, but the battery is low.

When it comes to our spiritual walks, this time of year we set up plans and pathways, only to find our battery is at 18%. We grind and communicate and counsel and comfort, and find that as we approach the holidays that we barely have the energy to get out of bed.

This is where the devotional normally would say that “Reading your Bible and praying is like a charging cable,” and while that is absolutely true I want to address the part before that. My mind rests on our tendency to not enable ourselves to recharge. Our tendency just to let the battery drain down overnight is not that much different than our impulse to deflate instead of resting well.

What I mean is this: instead of us looking to devotion to jump start our spiritual lives (like a spiritual espresso shot), maybe we would be better served in slowing down and doing the small things before rest.

It may mean taking moments to express gratitude to those who have served you kindly, writing down your requests to God and the ways you’ve seen him come through for you during the day, taking time to imagine how the events of the upcoming week can glorify God instead of draining your energy.

This holiday season, you’ll have the opportunity to try and jumpstart your battery, but I want to encourage you in a better way. Instead of turning to deflating or numbing or binging or shrugging off life at the end of a period of hard work, why not take hold of your time? Don’t let your fear of the future and your resentment of the fleeting nature of time become your idols.

Make sure you’re plugging in before you drift off.

Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper,
    and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:14b-16