Refocused

“‘Now therefore,’ he said, ‘put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.’” Joshua 24:23

Idols? Foreign gods? Me? Never!

But then the internet went out during the storms we had before Christmas. When it freezes on Shasta Bally, our internet tower is down for the count. We can only wait for the Lord to thaw it out so it comes back to life. We discovered that all our impatient phone calls to the internet provider wouldn’t thaw the tower.

On day one of this forced inactivity, I sat in my living room chair, thinking of all the things I could not do because I didn’t have the use of my cell phone or computer for playing games, reading and deleting emails, or perusing my favorite blogs. I couldn’t order Christmas presents, or listen to the LCC Advent reading. So…I took a nap.

On day two, the problem still existed with the internet tower—but the problem was resolved in my heart. I had an idol. I knew it, because I was feeling lost without it. Restless. Looking for something unnamed, some place for my mind and hands to settle.

What did I do with my time before cell phones and personal computers? I read books. Cleaned my house. Did the ironing. Cooked a nice meal. Made cookies for the kids. Journaled. Looked out the windows and daydreamed or, in nice weather, worked in the garden.

On that day two, I had a long time alone with God, thinking it over, praying. Then I ironed. Put stuff away. Wrapped Christmas presents. Planned out a nice meal. Wrote this devotional. I occasionally checked my phone to see if the tower was thawed—hoping, truly, that it was not. I didn’t want this peace, this rest (even though I was doing more with my time than I usually do) to go away.

I know the tower will thaw. But I have learned something important. This habit I have of picking up my phone to play a game or check my emails at the least downtime (or, in my most blunt, honest moments, I may call it an addiction to entertainment), is speaking to me of wasted hours—the same hours I will later complain about not having enough of to get everything done. A decision can and must be made for the third day, and all the other days.

A frozen internet tower has put me back on track with what is important to me. It has revealed to me the person I have become, and it has caused me to make a decision about the person I want to be.

Aren’t the Lord’s ways mysterious and unexpected?

Thank You, Father, for knowing just how to bring us out of our daze, our unpleasing habits, those things that bind and ruin us, so that we might refocus our priorities on what You have given us to do. Amen.