Hitting Restart

I was having problems with my computer recently.  Things weren’t working like I needed them to, there was a lag, and when I clicked on any internet tab I couldn’t even get my mouse to move. I was so frustrated.  I tried a ton of things, but finally I decided to just shut it down and restart.  “Amazingly” that worked wonders, and everything began functioning smoothly again.  I say amazingly, but really that should have been on surprise to me.  When I thought about it, it had been several days, weeks even maybe since I had actually closed out of my all programs and files and done a restart.  Truthfully, I just hadn’t taken the time.  I usually just close my computer up when I am done with it and let it go into “sleep mode.”  It was well overdue for a restart.

Last Thursday had been “one of those days.”  You know the kind I’m talking about.  I felt like I was burning the candle at both ends while chasing my tail at the same time.  I came home from work late and exhausted only to realize I needed to be back out the door in about 30 minutes for worship practice at church.  I quickly threw together some supper for the rest of my family, decided I would just skip dinner that night, nursed the baby, and grabbed my car keys to head out the door.  Before pulling out of the driveway, I hit start on the playlist for our worship set thinking I would run through a song or two one more time before practice.  The first song in the set was “Your Grace is Enough.”  In just a few seconds I found myself lost in the words and as I sang along loudly in the car the most freeing feeling washed over me.  For all my chaos and stress, it really was true… His grace is enough.  By the time I reached church for practice I felt like a new person.  Turning up some loud praise music and letting it fill my heart had been an amazing restart for my evening, and even the next day too as each time I felt myself tense up, I just let the words play through my mind “Your grace is enough for me.”  Restart.

Tonight, I came home having had another one of “those days.”  I really try not to have too many of those in a row… but state testing season is breathing down my neck, we have important consultants in at the school tomorrow, student sickness has makeup work piling in on me, and we have reached the point in the year where it feels like 3 steps forward and 2 step back in curriculum.  I ran to the store after leaving school to grab diapers and thought I would pick up a couple quick things to make dinner.  Which cued the major guilt that I hadn’t even cooked for my family in several days, actually more like a couple weeks (unless you count throwing pizza rolls in the oven… but I don’t).  I am a girl who loves to cook- it brings me joy.  So I grabbed a couple extra things with the plan of throwing some burgers on the grill this beautiful evening.  As I carried the groceries in, (a) came running from the barn, full speed in his mud boots to give me the best hug.  He told me immediately about the “bad news” from his day (getting in time-out for being too loud and pulling up his shirt to show his belly… loud doesn’t surprise me from that kid, for the belly- my constant reminder “don’t be weird!”)  He then followed it with, “I have good news too! We had pizza for lunch!”  That hug and laughter were the perfect start to the evening.  I told him I had hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner to which he cheered, hugged me again, and announced “I love you mama!”  With each hug I could feel the tension leaving my body.  Restart.

After dinner (b) and I played on the floor before I curled up on the couch with both of them for some snuggles and a movie while (A) sat in his recliner next to us.  Amid the exhaustion, I felt the stress melt away.  I was in my safe space enjoying my family.  Restart. 

Is there anything better to ease stress than baby giggles??!!

The rat race doesn’t go away, the stress will still be waiting for me in the morning as I tackle the new day.  But, hitting restart is such a better way to move forward.  I have more energy, I have more patience, I feel more organized, and like my computer- I simply function better if I hit restart.  I need to take the time to do it more often.

“The Lord replied, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” Exodus 33:14