I was having some friends over for Memorial Day.  Right in the middle of cooking corn…my stove quit working.

No fanfare, no smoke (thankfully), no funny smell (thankfully)…just no power.

And no reason.

I checked the fuse box.  The breaker had not been tripped.  It seemed odd that a stove, only seven years old, with which I had had no problems should just up and die.

My sweet friends offered suggestions, even to lay hands on the thing.  Fortunately, the corn was cooked enough to eat, so we tabled the discussion and enjoyed our food.

Yesterday, one of them came over and found that the silly thing was JUST UNPLUGGED!

Don’t I feel silly.

But here’s the thing.  The plug was down in a place where I could not reach it, behind the stove.  No easy way to visibly check the plug.  Perhaps not so much “silly me” as “not-so-thorough me.”

Good life lesson for me in this!  CHECK THE PLUGS!

Especially my plug into the Lord…my ultimate Power Source.

Have I been reading my Bible as I should?  Have I been praying?  Journaling?  Praising God instead of just presenting a laundry list of complaints?

But there are other plugs I need to check also.

Do any of my children seem out of sorts and out of step?  Have I plugged in with them lately?  Spent quiet time with them alone?  Let them tell me all that is going on, what they are thinking and feeling?

How about my friends?  Is there one who seems disconnected right now, either from me or from all, whom I need to reconnect with?

Are there things at my church that seem to be a bit strained lately?  People who are usually there but are not, either physically…or emotionally?

The circuit has got to be completed for the power to flow…power from God, down the conduit of me, to the people He has placed in my life.  If any parts of the circuit are broken…my parts or their parts…it just won’t happen.

Praise God that I know that HE will always keep His part of the circuit flowing toward me and all the work He has for me!

All I can do is keep plugging along (bad pun, I know, but strangely appropriate).

 Now this I know:
    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
    with the victorious power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

– Psalm 20:6-7

Our lesson at Wednesday night Bible class was about bugs.  We were buzzing like bees, dancing like butterflies, and crawling like beetles.

Then we started talking about worms.  Even these four year olds knew that worms are good for the soil.

“Teacher, teacher!  They are good when they are in your garden!”

We can’t see always worms, yet they make a difference.  Without them, the soil can contain more harmful bacteria (they will eat the stuff) and not be as rich in nutrients (worm casts contain a lot of food for plants in the form of nutrients).

Worms are not the attention hoggers of the animal world, preferring to do their work in the dark, moist soil instead of in the light of day.  But even still, they are necessary.

How many things in my Christian walk are like that!  Others may not see them, or even esteem them if they do see them, but they are crucial to me surviving and growing in this Christian walk.

Nobody but me knows how closely I am resting in the Lord, as most of the activities that support this are done alone, in private.

Or do they know?

While these disciplines are different from fruit, they are instrumental in making fruit, just as worms are necessary to make a healthy garden.  These disciplines are the inner workings that make fruit possible.  Without them, the results will be different, not as good.

When I am not following my discipline of regular prayer and Bible reading time, I am not as apt to see another’s need…or to respond in a Christian manner to it.  Without soil that has been tilled properly in the Word, and enriched by prayer, I may pass by on the side instead of meeting needs that I have been called to meet.

When I am not disciplined in my quiet time and growth time, I become impatient and mean-spirited, not focusing on loving others as I love myself, and letting my mouth get carried away to places that are ugly and less than helpful.  I the grow these weeds instead of good fruit.

Shame on me if I allow myself to get into this position.

Jesus told a parable about different kinds of soil, and I will end with it.  I pray that with my proper care of the soil of my soul, worms and all, I can be the good soil!

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” – Matthew 13:3-9

I was out running errands yesterday when I got the following text from my eldest:

Tanner just puked.

About ten minutes later, I get another text:

Matthew just puked.

Now, this was not totally unexpected in our house.  My eldest and I had had the virus earlier in the week.  We thought it had missed the others…obviously not.

After praising God for a son who can deal with vomit and for other kids who have pretty good toilet aim, I finished my shopping and headed home.

At each stop light on the way home, I started the texting brigade to deal with the fallout of this situation.

There were plans to change, rides to set up, prayers to solicit.

But, praise God, by the time I got home, all was prepared and a busy Sunday could continue, minus the puking part of the Wright family.

Texting often gets a bad rap.  I have heard people say it is not a replacement for face-to-face communication.  I agree with that whole-heartedly.

In this situation, though, a microburst of information to different people had to go out, and I made wise use of my time at stop lights to take care of the details of things.

In my opinion, this situation was quicker and easier to deal with for all the parties involved by having the technology and using it to my advantage.

Our communication with God is just the same.

God understands our “hail mary” prayers, and I think honors them.  When the going gets tough, the tough go to their knees, mentally if not physically.

But that does not substitute for quiet time with God, listening for His small, still voice.  That is often hard to do in our busy-busy-hurry-hurry world.

The how is not the important part, nor the where.  As a busy mom, I have kept a devotion book in my bathroom for years.  Sometimes the only alone time I have is a few minutes behind closed, locked doors while I take care of other matters.

Nowadays, for me, that time usually comes during my daily walks around our neighborhood.  Some days, I raise my hands in praise, some days I have tears streaming down my face.  Some days, I do most of the talking; some days, all I do is listen.  But either way, it is quality time, alone with the One I love the most.

This past week, while battling the aforementioned virus, I had a hard time walking…anywhere.  I was weak as a kitten.  Because I am a creature of habit, my alone time with God suffered.  My fault.  I should have used that time in bed more wisely, but, alas, I did not.

Add no worship service this morning for me due to sick boys, and I am feeling a bit alone.  It happens that quickly.  So, it is time to pray, time to get away for a few moments.  This blog is my admission to you, myself…and God…that I need to get back closer with Him…right away.

Praying for quality time with our Lord for you and for me!

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. – Psalm 34:8

Have you had this happen?

A friend and I took our kids and my big ole SUV on a day trip.

At one point, we were parking in a parking garage…and I promptly ran my car into one of the pylons in the center of the structure.

No real damage done to the vehicle…just another “beauty mark” for my ride…

…and a bit of embarrassment for me.

As I continued to struggle with squaring up in a spot I knew I had no business trying to park in in the first place, my sweet friend asked if I wanted her to park ‘er.

Increased embarrassment…and more than a little stubbornness.

I hope I didn’t snap when I gave her an emphatic “no.”

Fast forward to Wednesday night services…

A sweet friend told me she prayed for me and the boys as she walked by my house earlier in the day, thinking of how hard it must be at times to be a single mom.

We talked of the common elements in hardship and of the importance of surrender in walking the path…whichever path…the Lord has given you.

I couldn’t help but think about my driving.

Since Keith died, I can probably count the number of times I have ridden instead of driven on both hands.  Only driver in the house, biggest car when we ride with others.  So…I am rarely the passenger.

Except when it comes to the Lord.

There…always…I need to be the passenger and let Him be the driver.

So, I resolve to quit holding stubbornly to the driver’s seat.  Unlike parking my car the other day, I need to willingly give Him my troubles, really just park them at the foot of the cross.

And leave them there.

All it takes is surrender…constant surrender.