Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
It wasn’t the news I had wanted to hear. My phone had been acting up; slowing down and freezing at the most inopportune times, so I took it in to get checked out. I was hoping for a quick fix - a little flip of a switch and it would start running smoothly, able to keep up with the many, many hours of use it got each day, but that wasn’t the case. The technician explained to me that I was simply running too many apps on my phone and it had just been working too hard. The only “fix” for it was to do a “factory reset.” Basically, it had to be wiped clean. Everything I had loaded onto it would be gone and I would have to start over completely. I was devastated. I thought I would die without all my trusted apps!
Sound familiar? It should. We are living a real life “RESET” right now!
Our pastor always says, “What is true in the physical is true in the spiritual.” If you take a moment and look around at what is going on in the world around us, you may be able to see it as a “factory reset” of sorts.
Generally speaking, we have filled our lives full to overflowing with every activity under the sun. If you think about the things that occupy our time as ‘apps’ on a phone, you would probably agree that we are running at full capacity. Work, meetings, church groups, kid’s games, practices, rehearsals, girls’ nights out, dates, housework, volunteering. The list goes on and on. At some point, we were bound to crash!
I truly believe that God is giving us a chance to ‘reset’ our lives in the best sense. The only way to know what you really need in your life is to take everything away that is getting in the way and see where you are at. Then re-evaluate. It’s so difficult to make the choice on your own of what to let go of. Everything we do seems so important to us! How can we possibly choose between letting our daughter take piano or play volleyball? Who are we to say no? What if she is destined to be the next star of Carnegie Hall or Olympic Gold Medalist? We think we are doing a favor to our families by involving them in everything! We think we are doing a favor to the world by signing up to be room mom, Bible study leader, Meals-on-Wheels driver, and gala committee member. But are we really? Can we really be all things to all people? Are we really being the best version of ourselves when we are giving little pieces of ourselves to everyone? I don’t think so. More is not always better. More often means more cluttered. More unorganized. More frustrated and more tired.
Once my phone was wiped clean, I loved the fresh, empty slate. I was very selective of the apps that I chose to add back on to my device. I didn’t add them back just because they were there before. I only chose to add things that added value to my life and made my life easier. The things that got in the way didn’t make the cut.
The turmoil associated with COVID-19 will pass. In the meantime, the Lord is giving us a tremendous gift. He is allowing us to step away from all the things that took our time and allowing us to re-evaluate which of those things really mattered! During this time, I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to show you what is important. Maybe multiple music lessons, sports and activities for your children isn’t as important as you thought. Maybe, sitting down to supper as a family multiple nights a week is. This is the time when you will get to decide what truly matters.
I pray that you will take this time to renew your mind and allow God to transform your life. I pray that you will be able to discern what God wills for your life after this all ends, and you have the choice to add things back in. I pray that you will know what is important and what truly matters. Until then, be blessed and bless others!