No matter how many times I hit a key, my laptop refused to power on. It had crashed. While I was normally great at backing up documents and files, I’d gotten a little lazy in doing it on a regular basis. Would my notes be lost? Worse, would I remember what all was open in my infinite browser tabs?
When I finally got it to reboot, a little box popped up: Start from where you left off, or start fresh? Instead of clicking the option that would immediately launch seven programs, open no fewer than forty tabs, and likely cause my computer to crash all over again, I took a breath, said a prayer, and opted to start fresh instead.
When the screen came to life, it was bright and clean. From there, I could choose what to tackle first, then next. Doing only the next thing, without the other ninety-nine things looming in my vision, allowed me to be terrifically productive and, well, calm.
At the end of my workday, I turned to the rest of my house and immediately felt like crashing myself: toys scattered, dishes piled, laundry heaped, and floors cluttered. Instead of crashing, I picked one thing to start with and then moved on to the next.
I know God doesn’t speak out loud in burning bushes anymore, but it turns out He can use just about anything to speak to us when we need Him and His grace most, even overloaded laptops.
Lord, help me to clear my mental cookies so that I may be able to focus on You and Your plans for my life. Help me in my work today—and every day.
—Ashley Kappel
