Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Cell Phone, The Mixer, and Me

The past 36 hours have been painful.  As if I had lost a limb or my blood supply.

My cell phone stopped working.

Who knew that I could feel so naked, so out-of-the-loop, and so frustrated over a phone?  Missing calls and email and having to explain what was going on when people finally got a hold of me through other means. Thankfully, my resourceful husband, who works for our wireless carrier, got the issue resolved, and there were many apologies from the support team. 

I seriously live and die by my phone.  I typically log around 1800 minutes/month, and if you break that down, that means I essentially lost 89 minutes of phone time.  That's a lot of stuff to miss out on!  The most frustrating thing?  The phone was on the whole time, looking all normal-like, and all I needed was someone to flip a switch and give me service.  Yes, it was that easy...

In a strange way, I have felt like that cell phone lately.  Sitting here, looking all normal-like, but seriously needing someone to flip the switch and restore the connection.

Like my Kitchen Aid mixer.  It sits right by an outlet and stays plugged in.  It has a constant supply of power just waiting to do its thing.  What's missing?  The switch needs to be flipped, the mixer needs to be turned on.  And if that never happens, the mixer is essentially worthless.  It just sits there looking pretty but not doing what it was made to do. (And what a waste if it never got to actually mix and be a part of making something yummy!)

Life has been hectic lately.  Work is demanding, quotas are getting more and more difficult to meet, and it feels like things require twice as much effort to yield the same results. And I, unfortunately, have fallen into less of a groove and more of a rut, like a scratch on a record that plays the same annoying sound over and over.  Get up, go to work, come home, go to sleep.  Rinse and Repeat.

Ironically, I am plugged into the most amazing power source of all. God Almighty. Whose supply will never run out, and whose circuit breaker will never trip.  I've got all that power right here, but my switch is in the off position.  And I remain disconnected, like my cell phone. Powerless, like my mixer.

Easter was a great weekend for me.  God just held up a mirror and showed me the rut that I have fallen into.  That Kitchen Aid mixer, sitting there looking pretty, but not living out my calling.  Not walking into every day plugged into His power with true excitement about what the day might bring.  Not mixing and being a part of making something very yummy.

Simply put, I haven't been living.  I have been surviving.

The Bible tells us that "Jesus came so we can have real and eternal life, a better life than we ever dreamed of" (John 10:10).  And all I need to do is turn on the switch, and let his Power energize me to do what He made me to do!

8 comments:

  1. What great analogies! I can relate to feeling disconnected and like I am surviving and not really living sometimes. I would love to hear what you are doing to "plug into" the eternal power source.

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  2. I love your last statement because it's so true that we have to use His power, not our own which is what we all try and do. I think your disconnect is going around, I've been feeling it, friends have, and I just read another very similar post. You sound connected to the right energy source so I know you'll pull through!

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  3. I'm sorry you are in such a rut dear friend. Wish I could YANK you out of it???

    Another great post...you have such a skill with words!!

    Take care,
    Becca

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  4. A rut? I wouldn't have any idea what that looks like........haha.

    Incredible post, as usual. I love the reminder to let Him energize me and not to be so tempted to get my energy from other places.

    Oh, and when you decide to flip the switch on the mixer? Let me know, I will be there in less than 5 hours! Your cooking is something I dream about.........*sigh*

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  5. I am so glad I stopped by this morning to read your wonderful post - it is so easy to fall into the rut of just surviving, instead of living as you said. Words to think about.

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  6. The great thing about your situation is that you recognized your predicament and are doing something about it! We have all been there, but some people live their whole life never REALLY living and never changing. You have been graced with the wisdom to see things differently...

    Hope the rest of your week gets better! Sheri

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  7. I think this is a great topic and can relate, but I have to change the subject. (sorry!) Seriously, Christie, are you considering publishing a book of mini-essays of some of these posts or something similar? I would buy it and read it gladly and I'm sure thousands would!

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  8. I love this and it really spoke to me...I feel like I'm in a rut sometimes too and if I would just plug into God it would be made okay! You are so right on!

    I love your advice from FMM! and I met one of your friends through it and she is super sweet! That's what it's all about...making new friends! Thanks!

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