Don't Forget the Batteries

At the moment, one of the draws in my office is full of batteries. There are AA’s, AAA’s, D’s C’s -1.5 volt and 9 volt batteries. Why? Because we wanted to be sure that when our grandsons opened their toys at Christmas, they would not have the disappointment of having a toy that would not work for lack of power. Even, with all our careful planning we nearly got caught out when we found that one toy needed some obscure button type battery. Fortunately, we were able to buy one in time.

For a child there can be nothing worse than opening some marvellous present on Christmas morning only to find that it is useless because there is no power.

We rely on power, without a charged battery, that mobile phone in our pocket is just an expensive piece of junk – totally useless as a communication device. At least when mobile phones first came out once the battery was flat you could use it as a door stop! We can spend thousands on the latest new car, but without that small box of lead and acid, it's not going anywhere.

We too need power. There is the power we get from food, and that keeps us moving, but there is also another power that comes from outside ourselves - a spiritual power that drives us and makes us more than just a machine. Christians would call that power the Holy Spirit; other religions may know it by some other name. I suppose that Star Wars die hards would call it the 'force'.

Some years back I remember struggling with one toy which refused to work, even though I had the correct batteries. In fact, I had tried more than one set of batteries. I was about to take it back when I remembered an old, little used, rule of mine “If all else fails, read the instructions.” Hidden away, where I hadn’t looked, was a very small on/off switch. For the power to work the switch must be on.

Over the years I have come to realise that the best way to switching the power on is to get away on my own to somewhere quiet where the pressures of life can be put aside for a while. There I can find the power.

The weeks leading up to last summer gave Gill and I very little time and space. Our second daughter was married in June and we were taken up with a lot of planning and preparation. For me the summer term had proved less than easy, so come the holidays I was exhausted and it was beginning to show. We had the chance of a ten day break in Northumberland, but even that did not go to well at first. We were camping and for the first couple of days the weather proved both cold and wet and I was getting quite grumpy.

On the Tuesday, Gill suggested that I went off on my own to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) which I did. Despite the summer tourists, I was able to find the quiet I needed. In a few short hours between tides, I had become fully recharged and a longstanding question had been answered.

We took extra care over batteries this Christmas; the events of summer have taught me that I need to take the same care over my own batteries. We have made sure that, in the office draw, there are plenty of spares. At the beginning of 2006, we need to make sure that we sort out both times and places where we can find a recharge - and make sure the switch is set to on.

Dave