Getting Unbroken | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Getting Unbroken | Previous Challenge Entry
By Sylvia Young
02/16/17
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I’m not a very technical person. I don’t know how to fix machines, so when my phone or computer is jammed, I turn them off and on again. I also do this with the photocopier at work. Most of the time, it works!

I assume there’s some kind of mechanism that reboots the system when it’s completely turned off and back on again. I give the machine a chance to rest and restore. I don’t know why it works, but it does, and a whole lot better than whacking it. Does it just needs a rest? A little nap?

Sleeping is a weird thing to do, isn't it? We run around doing things all day, and then, for about eight hours, we lie down and do nothing. But it's actually a chance to reboot…restore ourselves if you will, to change our focus and examine what’s really important.

It's good to shut down when necessary. Notice how a machine gets too hot when it's used too much? Sometimes it will start glitching. I glitch in the same kind of situation. I feel jammed because there’s too much going on...because I'm "on" for too long. I need to get away from everyone and everything that’s fighting for my attention. I want to turn off my life…just for a little while. God knows that, and that's why He invented sleep and the need for rest.

A lot of people consider taking a rest to be lazy, but it’s essential. If we keep going a hundred miles per hour, we’ll burn out eventually. I know. I’ve tried, and the result is not very pretty. I end up snapping at my children, making bad decisions and overeating in order to calm myself down. I’m a shadow of my former self, unrecognizable.

At that point, if I have the wherewithal to do so, I take a step back and shut down. Usually the awareness comes when I’ve done something pretty offensive. I don’t mean to, but it happens when I don’t take care of myself, when I don’t rest, when I overload.

I'm not the only one this happens to. Too many things want our attention, and we need to choose which ones deserve it. Social media? Not much. Sketchy movies? Nope. Indulging in wasteful vices? Definitely not. Spending time with family? Oh yeah, for sure. Exercising? Being with friends? Prayer? Yes, yes, and absolutely yes. But how do we do this? How do we prevent ourselves from getting jammed?

A professor of mine once illustrated how a certain number of large rocks won’t fit in a vessel if you half fill it with sand first. The rocks symbolized the important things in life, while the sand represented the minutia. However, if you put the rocks in first, the sand will work its way around them. Lesson? Take care of the important things and the rest will fall into place…if they're meant to.

It’s an effort every day to organize myself and focus on the things that really matter. Sometimes the sand gets in my eyes and I can’t see what I’m doing. Sometimes the sand is just easier to deal with, and at least I’m doing something, right?

Wrong. God gave each person a mission, a purpose, and whether it’s teaching, evangelizing, giving, or what have you, we won’t feel fulfilled unless we’re doing it. Sometimes we’ll feel stuck, like we can’t go on or forward, but that might happen because we are either doing too much or the wrong thing.

Sometimes I envy the machine; it can fulfil the function it was created for without a doubt. Humans are not so inclined. According to the Bible, we’re made to love God and worship Him, to be in relationship with Him, but we get so sidetracked with the distractions of the world. The Amish might be onto something. No technology, no distractions.

Well, it’s too late to turn Amish now. I’m pretty sure my family wouldn’t go with me if I asked.

The best way to get something fixed is to turn it over to the manufacturer, or better still, the inventor. He or she knows exactly how it’s supposed to work. So, the next time I get jammed, or stuck, I’m going to do just that. My inventor knows exactly what’s wrong and will reset, restore, and reboot me so that I can fulfil my original purpose. I’ll need regular maintenance of course, but that’s to be expected.

I’m only human, you know.

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