The lady staring at the Lowe’s battery display leaned over to Hannah and me to say, “They are out of ‘D’ batteries at the Walmart, too.” She noticed we were looking under every shelf and display, trying to find extra batteries for our flashlights. We just knew that the power was going to be out for days, so we were back at the store along with everybody else.
There is a specific kind of “low battery” anxiety that grips us during a storm. We become obsessed with our own capacity to stay powered, frantic to find some source of energy to keep the dark at bay.
I’m struck by how often we live like rechargeable batteries, assuming we can power on our own through any storm. But a battery is simply a case of chemicals, high-tech dust, which will eventually drain on its own.
In our series, “Ashes to Ashes,” we’re leaning into a different reality. We weren’t designed to be batteries; we were designed to be “wall plugs.” We aren’t the source of power; we are conduits for it.
Lent is our collective “powering down.” It’s a 40-day season to stop the exhausted scramble for self-sufficiency. By admitting our limits, we stop looking under empty shelves for a temporary fix and reconnect to the only source that never fails. Let’s stop trying to carry the charge ourselves and rest in Christ, the One who is our true power.