Six Percent

 

“Is this your phone, Anna?”  I asked my oldest child.  I suppose the lavender case should have given it away, but I am not always aware of what the pieces of technology my family members carry around for communication purposes look like.

“Yes, that’s my phone,” Anna said.

“It looks like you’ll have to recharge it soon,” I commented. 

“What?”  Anna looked at the phone.  “Oh no,” she said.  “It has 6 percent charge left.  That will keep it going for another couple of hours for certain.”

I looked askance at my eldest daughter.  Surely she had not learned such cavalier behavior from her dear father. 

Climb high mountains, shoot for the moon -- but be sure your phone is charged first...

“There’s something going around Facebook about changing your voice mail message if you are lost in the woods and your battery is low and you don’t have service,” I said.  “I don’t think that would work because if you don’t have service you can’t change your voicemail message, so I’m trying to prevent that from happening.”

Anna looked me like I needed to check into a behavioral unit.  “Dad, I’m right here,” she said.  “I don’t think I’m about to get lost in the woods.”

“That’s what you think,” I said.  “But what percent of people who got lost in the woods expected to get lost?  It's all fun and games and six percent battery life and then 'poof,' Lost in the Woods!”

With these words of wisdom, I left the conversation.  Clearly, Anna wasn’t planning to charge her phone until it got down to some reasonable number -- say one or two percent battery life and she probably wasn’t going to get lost in the woods in the next couple of hours either.

I have always thought that people tend to find themselves polarized around things like cell phone batteries and gas tanks.  There are some people who feel comfortable driving around with the gas light on in their car, while others are filling up when their vehicle gets to the half tank mark.

I tend towards the compulsive filling the tank and charging my phone camp.  I hate getting anywhere close to empty, either in my vehicle or my phone.

It is easy to plug your phone in when it is getting low on battery and relatively easy to fill your gas tank. 

Much harder than that is to deal with situations where we are emotionally or physically depleted.  What can you do to bring your emotional battery level back into the green zone?

There are lots of things that have been written on the subject, but I believe a good place to start is to know our own limitations and then have a plan for regular times to recharge.  Those times must include a break from draining activities and deliberate inclusion of things that we enjoy doing and that don’t leave us more weary than before.

More than that, spending time with Jesus is really important.  He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

If I am honest, I am not always good at following my own prescription.  I need rest.  I need time with Jesus.  And yet…  it is all too easy to try to squeeze one more thing into my packed schedule.  When I do this, I am not the only one who suffers – the people who live with me and experience my resulting grouchiness suffer too.

So it is that Jesus offers us rest.  For He knows that a life lived at six percent battery level is not in good shape – even if we never get lost in the woods.

The New Verse

 

“Dad,” my five-year-old daughter said to me.  “It is time for you to learn your Bible verses!”

“Really?  Which Bible verses do I need to learn?”  I asked her curiously. 

“The first verse is from First Second 4:28,” Elise began.

“I think I know this one,” I said.  “Is it, ‘All we like sheep have gone astray?’”

“No, Dad,” Elise said in a tone that implied that only someone who didn’t know his Bible would say such a thing.  “It is NOT that verse.  First Second 4:28 says, ‘Love confirms from evil.’  Can you say it after me?  ‘Love confirms from evil.’”

“What does that mean?”  I asked curiously.  This was a verse I didn’t remember and I have read my Bible through many times.

“Never mind,” Elise said.  “This is God’s Word and you NEED to learn it.  There is another verse for you to learn too.”

“What’s that?”  I asked, fighting an urge to laugh.  My daughter was deadly serious, but she wasn’t exactly making sense.

“This verse is even more important Dad,” Elise told me.  “It says, “All Elises should eat lots of cookies.”

“All Elises should eat lots of cookies?”  I asked her.  “Does that include you?”

Elise nodded seriously.  “Yes, Dad, it is in the Bible, so I guess I will need to eat lots of cookies.”

“I think you missed the verse that comes after that one where it talks about, ‘If they eat their supper,’” I said.  “You can have cookies, but you haven’t eaten your supper.”

This seemed to take Elise back – the idea that her dear old Dad would be as heretical as I seemed to be both shocked and chagrined her.  “I’m going to tell Mom,” she said, as though her mother would definitely support her campaign to add sweets to her diet.

I suppose it is not terribly surprising to find someone co-opting Scripture for their own ends.  Lots of evangelists and pastors through the years have tickled the ears of their congregants with words that soothe them and tell them that all Jesus expects of them is what they are already doing.

Show up to church on Sunday, act loving to the people in the pews next to you, and put a little money in the offering plate and you are well on your way.

And yet…

The Jesus I see in Scripture did not live a comfortable life nor did He expect His followers to have one either.  “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Self-Denial.

Cross Bearing.

These are not things that attract people.  People these days would rather hear about “Your best life now!” and “Chocolate Chip Cookies without Guilt!”  Frankly, I would too, but Jesus calls me over the tumult and asks me to follow Him.

He promises peace.  He gives satisfaction.  He gives life in abundance, but only after I willingly lay down my life and my desires and take up my cross – every single day – and walk in His footsteps.

I suppose it is easier to read the things we want into Scripture, but it is not wise to add things to God’s Word – even if we desperately want a cookie when we didn’t finish our supper.