For many years in my adult life, I have worked as a paraprofessional in our local school system. It was especially nice once I was working in the elementary school our children attended, which is just two miles from our home. I was working in there while our youngest child attended there for six of his years in that school. It was nice that he could take that short trip to school with me every day. Many of the other paraprofessionals at the school were parents of students at the school as well when they first began working there. Fortunately, this meant most of us lived within just a few miles of each other as well as the school. This was a blessing on the rare occasions when illness kept me home from work, since I could call on one of them to drop by on the way to work and give my son a ride to school. Another rare occasion occurred when my minivan was “sick.”

For a few weeks leading up to this incident, the minivan had been sluggish when starting. One visit to the auto repair shop found nothing. One morning, on a day filled with two separate medical appointments in addition to work and school, the minivan would not cooperate. My son and I were loaded up and ready to leave, but not a single sound was heard when I turned the key in the ignition. None. Not a grind, buzz, whistle, or sputter. Based on the previous issues in recent weeks, my thoughts went quickly to a dead battery. With little time to spare, I called a coworker for a ride to the school. Once at work, I called my husband to let him know that had happened and to see if could help out with the appointments. Many times, it was difficult for him to take off for minor issues, but this time, he has allowed to leave after lunch for a short while.

He arrived home just before our son and I got home from school and quickly got to work preparing his truck and the minivan to jump the battery. Once he opened the hood of the minivan and began attaching the jumper cables to the battery, he saw that the cable on one of the battery posts was extremely loose. Once he firmly tightened that connection, the minivan quickly started up! When I arrived at home, he told me how simple the solution was. Thankfully, we were both able to have a good laugh at how simple the “repair” had been. We were also thankful that no expensive repair or even a new battery were needed. No need to spend money was always a great joy.

Just imagine, there are many important connections in an engine that can cause problems. Every connection needs to be secure and in the correct spot for the car to run. My life is like this. My connection to Jesus needs to be secure. Without HIM and HIS daily guidance, I most likely would not have laughed at the simple solution. I most likely would have been upset with myself for not taking the time to open the hood and look at the battery that morning. I could have been angry at the auto shop for not seeing the problem when I took it in. I could have been upset with my husband for not checking it out in the days leading up to the incident. He could have been upset with me for asking him to come home when I could have noticed the issue myself that morning. But with Jesus in our lives daily, we were both able to find those moments of joy and laughter together.

On my journey with Jesus, there have been many, many times when I failed to keep my connection secure. As life goes along, I have had periods when I was so busy, and things were running smoothly, so I tended to push my daily time with Jesus to the side. When even the tiniest problem occurred, I didn’t even think to pray and ask for HIS guidance first. I plunged headfirst into “doing it myself”. After all, don’t we all think “my way is the best way” at various times in our lives? As I age and mature in my journey with Jesus, I have learned to rely on HIM through my daily prayer and bible study for HIS guidance on even the smallest matters. Keeping that connection secure and in working condition is all that gets me through most days! Especially when the concerns are not small – but enormous!. I can’t imagine my life without Jesus.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 NIV