Drills, Power, and Staying Connected

Originally Post August 24, 2014
While working on the ‪Gypsy Bus,‬ I kept thinking about God and drills. A weird combination, but bear with me on this.

My first drill is electric. It's the smaller of the two but far more powerful than the second drill, a 19.2 volt battery model.

I like the fact that with the cordless drill I don't have to worry about getting the cord hung up or magically getting wrapped three times around a milk crate. (Yes, that's a valid concern.) I like that I can't accidentally disconnect it from the power source, and I love the fact that there are no limits on where I can take it.

What I don't like about it is its heavy. By the end of the day that battery pack may as well be a ten pound weight I've been curling for eight hours straight. Somewhere around mid-afternoon, I began wondering why the manufacturers couldn't make a lighter version of this behemoth. (Okay, so really just whining - out loud, to myself, without a soul to hear me. Yeah, I do that).

Being a solution oriented person, I began to think of the logistics for creating such a device. However, my knowledge base for such a thing is limited (read that nonexistent), so my mind quickly began to frolic down other trails as I'm an easily distracted person as well.

This led to contemplating God and drills. I began to realize that too many of us are like that battery powered model. We act like we are self-sufficient, like we don't need a life that is tied down by a cord. We don't need to be plugged in or recharged, right up until the moment we do and then we are out of the game for the next hour or more.

And what’s more, the demands of carrying around your own power supply is exhausting! Sure it seems more convenient at first, but let's face it, we just don't have the same “umph” of a drill that's plugged in.

Sure wrestling with a cord isn't always easy. You have to pay attention to where you are going and avoid jerking on it too hard for fear of disconnecting, but the pay offs are substantial.

As believers I think we were called to be "plugged in" and always connected to the ultimate power source. I don't think we were meant to weigh down by our own power. We were designed to let God's power flow through us, creating beautiful things, and repairing what is broken. Sure we can do some of it on our own, but let's be honest, it just doesn't have the same “umph” as when we fully engaged with the God who wants to empower us to be more than we ever could on our own.