Batteries Not Included

These are the infamous words usually read for the first time at the most inopportunistic times, like, let say, Christmas morning...

A mad scramble about the house ensues; "Batteries, batteries, there must be some around here somewhere" is being heard muttered above the opening and closing of drawers and cabinets. Chances are that even if some are on hand they will not be the correct size! The remote controls are checked and pilfered and then hours and hours later when the battery-powered toy has been abandoned and the parents sit down to relax finally and watch a little TV....

Today the MP3 player's battery went out and my cell phone started beeping to let me know that it too was just about out of energy.

In this season, we so understand how that feels.

Wouldn't it be interesting if we had those little battery icons on our foreheads, showing the decreasing bars…?

We get our schedules for the festivities, others expectations, our own aspirations, and then down the road find that "Batteries NOT included".

So where do we find these much needed batteries for this time?
Where do we plug in to be recharged?

I guess it might be a little different for all of us, just like every electronic gadget I have has a chord specifically for it that doesn't work for any of the others(!), but there are some generalities that help us all.

Get some extra sleep - a nap, an earlier bedtime, some time relaxing in a chair between events - restorative sleep is an amazing thing.

Take time for a friend - okay, so you may not be able to put your head on a pillow but you can contact a friend - however that is, in person or by phone, and if you can do it over coffee that's just so much the better! Even a few emails or texts can give you a little extra boost. I find it true that, as the quote says, Friends double our joys and halve our troubles.

Spend some time with the Lord - The words are familiar from the most famous psalm of all; “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides the still waters, He restores my soul.”

Or could we perhaps substitute “recharges my soul”?

Time with God tends to change my frantic or exhausted perspective and reminds me that He is in control, I am never alone, and He’s promised to meet my needs and take care of me.

I can feel the bars increasing…

May you as well.