The Power of Being Connected

There are times in life when all seems Connected, or Not. Sometimes you can figure out how to move forward with no connections, and other times you’re simply stuck until you make the connections. You know. Connect the dots!

So. I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be, a mechanic – good, bad, or otherwise! Though there are times I enjoy tearing into something to repair, most of the time I do a poor job of it, or I do not have the tools and expertise to do it well. A few years ago, while enjoying the trusty riding mower that gets me through 3-4 acres of mowing between April and July, it just decided to quit advancing. The engine was running, the mower blades were spinning, but the gas pedal felt like it had disconnected from the rod/spring that caused it to make the engine accelerate.

Eventually, I had to push it a distance to the garage
so that I could check it out.

After several days of busy schedule and procrastination, I finally removed the mower deck, got my trouble light and looked for the problem. Even with the engine running, everything seemed to be doing fine – except for that missing connection that caused the mower to advance. All the rods and springs seemed to be in the proper place. All the bolts and nuts were tight, and nothing seemed to be loose. There did not seem to be anything missing or wrong… Until…I finally considered that it might be a belt. Either broken or it might have slipped off the pulley. Perhaps that was the cause… The issue… Voila! The belt was not wrapped around the proper pulley. Somehow it jumped off the pulley and my large hands could not squeeze into the problem area and re-route the belt into the proper path.

I could not connect, no matter how hard I tried.

Have you ever felt like this? Your life seems to have suddenly sprung up with problems and you have no clue what to do about them! If we are honest with ourselves, this happens way too often! Each problem leaves you feeling disconnected and somewhat useless, but then compound the problem with more problems??? Remember the game of Dogpile?

This is where depression sets in for many. You feel all alone and nobody to help, might as well go into the gardens and eat worms!

Here’s my thought today. What do you do when you feel disconnected? Maybe you assumed the connections were there, but somehow they slipped out of your hands! The connection is broken! You didn’t even realize it! Maybe no one but yourself can see it. No helping hand reaches into your world to help mend the broken pieces. You are all alone. By yourself. Facing life.

When nothing seems right, and everything feels wrong, and you’re not sure what to do about it all… It’s time to step back and analyze your world. Is the problem with everyone else? Or is the problem with yourself? Be stern with yourself to find the root of the problem, and be brave enough to face the answer!

Yes. More than likely, the disconnection happens because of you!

I recently felt this way. I’m not sharing the event or the situation, but I felt so disconnected from a particular area that I normally feel really good at. Looking back I can name some of the reasons for that feeling, but it is only speculation as to the “why” and with no real clear answer how to fix the “what” so it does not happen again.

In fact, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to fix the problem at’all!

The action of feeling unplugged from the world around you can happen in an instance. It’s good for me to live out in the country. There is generally a “downtime” of disconnecting from the city, a welcoming to my quiet lifestyle, and a re-charging that I get from my home. The reverse is also true – there is a connecting feeling I get when I am headed into town.

Connecting and disconnecting are good for the soul and mind, but being on the wrong side of the coin at the most inopportune time can really try your mind. You ask the question, “Where did I go wrong?”

I have been in a moment of joy, perhaps enjoying friends and family, and something triggers and all of a sudden I must escape the moment and get away from it all. It’s not a gradual thing. It’s instant! Right now. Almost like pulling the plug… The obverse is also true. You can feel disconnected from someone or something, and then something triggers and all of a sudden you are instantly in gear and in full speed motion!

There might not be any tried and true answer for this, but let me share with you that this happens to EVERYONE. What makes an athlete really good at this event but really bad at the next one? Or, replace the word Athlete and put in your own “fill in the blank” and ask the same question. Sometimes its simply the attitude you have toward someone or something. I find that it’s as easy as a certain “grating voice” that can drive me bonkers!

John Denver sang a song many years ago with this phrase:

Some days are diamonds some days are stones
Sometimes the hard times won’t leave me alone
Sometimes a cold wind blows a chill in my bones
Some days are diamonds some days are stones

Sort of makes me think about how some days are full of sunshine on my shoulders and I’m happy, and then something happens and you find yourself with lyrics from another song of his:

Is there no one with a smile for me
No one with the hallo in their eyes
Is there no one who will love me
And help me through the dark and lonely night

See? Some days are good, some are not. Some events work, others do not. Sometimes the kite launches, and other times it simply lays out on the ground doing nothing~

Sometimes you Connect, and sometimes you do not…

One last thought and I’ve returned to it over and again. There are many prodigals out there who have disconnected from their previous life. Perhaps there is a feeling that it’s time to reconnect. Listen to me. It’s all about you making a move. Just like that young man in scripture.

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ‘
(Luke 15:11-19 NKJV)

The power to reconnect was in his hands, and then in the hands of his father. Both wanted it. Both needed it. Daily the father waited for that time when he would see his son come home. Go ahead… Read the story of connection. There’s value here!