RESET
I appreciate reset buttons.
When my computer sits cross-legged in the middle of the floor, arms crossed across its chest scowling at me and refusing to do anything I tell it, the reset button puts an end to it’s little tantrum. We start over. True, we usually have to go back and talk about whatever it was for a little bit, but at least its little “fit” is over.
When I push too many electrons through everything I have plugged in out in the yard, I usually trip the GFI outlet on the side of the house and everything stops. I turn off what ever it was so it doesn’t go crazy when the power comes back on and I start tracing the path back toward the power panel to find the reason. It usually takes me a little bit to figure out why the electricity isn’t flowing any more. Often I find the cause when I lift the outlet cover and see the tripped switch on the outlet. I put my finger on the little button marked RESET, pause just a second, and PRESS. When I go back out to where I was working I’m usually a bit more careful about the demands I make on the extension cord and power equipment so it doesn’t happen again.
In the lab where I work there’s a digital scale that measures in the thousandths of a gram; 24.596g for example. Between readings it’s supposed to read 0.000 but a drop of oil, a fragment of something, or even air currents can change that reading by just a little bit. I need accurate readings on that scale so when it reads 0.0123, for example, and the platform is obviously clean, I usually blow at it. Whh-hh-h! The numbers scroll up and back, hopefully to 0.000. When the air movement from the room’s air handlers holds it near zero but not at 0.000, I press a little button on the control panel: RE-ZERO. It takes a second, shows me 0.000 again, and we’re ready to proceed with the next test.
When life pushes hard, demands make rest less-likely and I (of course) step up to the plate and do my best to deliver success, sometimes it takes its toll on me. It doesn’t usually throw me into a tantrum but it can make things tense for those around me. Sometimes push-push-pushing brings on the need to just stop. Not forever, but for a little bit. To breathe, recollect and resume. Sometimes life’s conditions change enough that I’m not sure where point one is anymore. My time with the Lord each morning is usually a good re-zero time, but sometimes I have to take a little more time and just be still with Him so He can press the reset button down inside me. Sometimes it means taking part of a day or a few hours with the mindset “I’m not doing ANYthing for a few hours” so I can regroup and realign. My son referred to it as a “RESET” this last week and I instantly liked the term. I’ve been thinking about it since. It fits, I think.
The Lord told His people to take a break on day seven and rest. He knows people – He makes them – and he knows it’s important to rest.
He also told them to give the land a break every seven years. He knows we’re greedy I guess, and that left to ourselves we’d ruin the very land that provides for us. Let it rest.
If I had the SCRABBLE tiles for the word REST on the holder in front of me and slipped another E in the appropriate place, REST would become RESET.
Rest. Reset. Not bad!
God, I’m glad you thought of everything. I’ll do my best to cooperate when You insist I take a break, and I’ll pay attention to when I need to re-zero with You and those I love.
RESET
[PRESS HERE]
