Christen Rouson

God spoke to me through the most unusual thing.  Today’s blog is inspired by my cell phone.

| Disconnect. Reset. |

I am not a fan of my cell phone.  Don’t get it twisted, I’m still down with #teamAndroid, it’s just that I have an older model phone — B (maybe C) list Samsung Galaxy, and it plucks every piece of my nerves.  It is a known fact that if included in a group text, I’ll be the last to receive the message; furthermore, my phone moves at the pace of a slug.  God forbid I’m ever in a life or death situation.  Because of my ill-operating phone, I have declared that I SHALL buy a new phone, but it will have to wait because it isn’t a priority.  The truth is, at one point my phone was just fine!  I can trace all of my phone’s operation issues to a few things:

1. I never turn my phone off.
2. I have too much “stuff” on my phone that takes up too much space.
3. I drop my phone almost daily.
4. My phone software was outdated.

Consequently, I received a notification yesterday morning that T-Mobile had a new software update available for my phone.  Finally!  I could have a 1/2 way decent phone again, BUT there were conditions…

1. The battery had to be charged to at least 30%.
2. I had to remove the spam and unnecessary cache data that was wasting space in my phone’s memory.
3. The phone would be unavailable for use for at least 10 minutes.

There’s always a catch…  Once I read the conditions, I put the update off because I could not be without a phone.  What if somebody tried to call or text me?  What if someone needed me and couldn’t reach me?  What if I needed to contact somebody?  10 minutes is a long time when you have “things to do!”  Furthermore, by the time I finally considered completing the update, my phone battery was on 15% and I was feeling some kinda way about my phone being plugged across the room to charge.  My point: I kept making excuses, putting it off, and ultimately I had to deal with something that could not function well.  I woke this morning and was once again greeted by the notification that an update was available, and I ignored it…until I was fresh out of excuses.  My phone was fully charged, I had deleted the spam and cache yesterday so the memory wasn’t cluttered, and since I was at work, I technically didn’t need my phone anyway.  So I did it… I agreed to the update, watched my phone power down, and I waited.  Before I knew it, my phone had rebooted and everything seemed different.  There was a new look to the icons and font, the notification bar was streamlined, but most importantly, THE PHONE WAS FUNCTIONING BETTER! 

Side note: I have fought all urges to play with my phone all day and text everyone I know just to see if the texts will go through faster.

Let’s make this practical…

It is no secret that I am, in essence, burning the candle on both ends.  I have shared that I have at least 15 hour days as I work full-time then go straight to class part time, my weekends only leave me with limited time to meet all of my obligations and be as social as possible, and I am left with very little time for myself.  My home is basically a storage unit with a shower, my car is my mobile home, and “me time” is almost non-existent.  I haven’t been very good at saying “NO” sometimes simply because the obligation is something that I actually want to do or I feel as if I don’t do it, I will disappoint someone.  (I know, I know… Don’t be a people pleaser, Chris.)  Last week, seemingly out of nowhere, I got sick.  I wasn’t sure if I had a cold or if I got hit by a car…that’s just how badly my body ached.  Things to know: I hardly ever get sick.  I don’t know if my immune system is covered by the blood of the lamb and shielded by Holy Spirit or what (I literally just laughed).  All I know is I may catch a cold twice a year, and I already hit my quota for 2017.  The truth is, I got sick because I was tired.  Over the past 8 months, my lifestyle has converted to one with little sleep and very little down time. 

In essence, I have been treating my life like I do my cell phone: 

• I never “turn off.”  I’m always available to everyone, somehow, even when I can’t be.
• My life has been filled with unnecessary feelings, emotions, and baggage that has affected my “memory.” …even burdens and baggage that do not have my name on the name tag.
• I have been thrown around (self-inflicted) as I bounce from place to place, thing to thing, and obligation to obligation.
• I haven’t allowed myself to grow/change/reboot/update because that would require me to disconnect.

All of this has made it so that I am not functioning to my highest potential, and just like my cell phone, I have brushed updating or upgrading to the side because it isn’t a priority.  Yeah, I just admitted it, sometimes Christen isn’t a priority to Christen.

“If I can just make it to Veteran’s Day Weekend.”  “If I can just keep pushing until Thanksgiving.”  “If I can just survive until Christmas break.”  “If I can just crawl into the new year.”  “If I don’t die before tax season.”  These have been my rebuttals when I consider the fact that I desperately need to disconnect and take a vacation!  You see how I continue to put it off?

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. “

Matthew 11:28 [International Standard Version]

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

Maybe you, like me, just need a minute.  Life is so hectic, the obligations are many, things come at you fast, and before you know it, you’ll look up months from now and be exhausted!  Maybe like me, you feel as if you don’t have the time disconnect from life.  Who gone feed these kids?  Who gone keep this house running?  Who gone handle the work that’s piling on my desk?  Who gone get things done?  (intentional bad grammar)  My cold last week [re]taught me a valuable lesson: Not stopping to rest will eventually force you to rest, but it won’t be as pleasurable or convenient as your choice to do so.  Holding on just a little while longer and keeping on keeping on without taking a moment to reset will throw you down or at least slow you down. 

THERE IS REST AVAILABLE!  Just read the referenced scripture above.  The clarion call is for all who are weary (tired) and those who are carrying burdens.  *hops in line to get my rest package*  But I had to stop and ask myself this question, “Would God allow me to come to him tired and burdened down so that He could provide rest but not take my burdens from me?”  My opinion…NAH!  The Bible told me I could give my cares to God because He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7), and it instructed me to give my burdens to the Lord, and He would sustain me (Ps. 55:22).  It isn’t God’s will for me to be burnt out, busted, and disgusted.  As a matter of fact, He wants me to “prosper and be in good health even as my soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2)  What good is my full schedule, my self-improvement, my acquisition of wealth, and my fulfillment of dreams if I’m too beat down to enjoy them? 

Today let’s all take a lesson from my cell phone and it’s software update.  It is okay to reserve enough energy for yourself – (the 30% minimum battery requirement).  It’s okay to reduce, remove, and replace the things that consume your space – (the requirement to delete “stuff” from my phone’s memory).  Lastly, it’s okay to disconnect for a while – (the requirement that the phone be unusable for at least 10 minutes).  And in the end, you could be completely refreshed and functioning at a completely different level, but even if for a little while, you must disconnect and reset.

Sorry if this wasn’t so poetic or clear…my thoughts are a little jumbled and I’m a little rusty; it’s been two weeks since my last post.

I hope this helps.

-Chris ❤