Toothbrush

A little while ago, I was given a pretty old, pretty beaten-up electric toothbrush.

I was thrilled! I can’t remember ever having an electric toothbrush before, and (in what’s possibly quite a sad reflection on what brings me joy!), the excitement of starting it up and hearing that tell-tale buzz is still, months later, a genuine highlight of my day.

There’s only one drawback. Being on the older side, the battery isn’t quite as effective as it used to be. The first day after charging is fantastic; the toothbrush explodes into life and in no time at all I’m feeling minty fresh and ready to go for the day/ready to settle into bed. The second day is generally pretty reasonable, perhaps lacking a little bit of energy, but it does the job. By day three through, if it hasn’t been recharged, the revolutions have slowed down, the buzz sounds pained, and inevitably, halfway through, it grinds to a halt and I’m left hunting around in the cupboard for my trusty old ‘manual’ toothbrush to finish the job.

To be honest, 2023 has felt for me a little like I’m starting with a day three toothbrush.

I had a lovely Christmas and New Years break, but as 2023 begun, a mixture of illness, tiredness, injury and busyness had left me feeling like my toothbrush battery…stuttering along and in danger of giving up the ghost at any moment. So it was really timely for me that we began this year by taking a ‘New Year Pause’ — not rushing into a new teaching series, but stopping for a short series of messages designed to help us reset and re-centre on Jesus.

Leaving aside that I gave one of those messages (although, as always, I feel like I get more from preparing a message than anyone is likely to get from hearing it!), it’s been so helpful for me to start this year with that call. My temptation whenever I’m living with depleted batteries is to cut the ‘God stuff’ in my life, in the misguided belief that that will free up my time and capacity to recharge. And of course, there are times when what I need is physical, practical rest — sleep, food, fresh air, exercise — but I also find it all too easy to lean away from God rather than into Him when I feel like I’m running on empty.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Come to me, all you who are feeling energised and at ease”. His invitation to come is made precisely to those feeling weary and burdened, over-worked and under-charged, and his promise for those of us feeling like that is…rest.

Learning to live with Jesus at the centre doesn’t instantly fix all the things in our lives that we might wish were different. But, as I have to constantly keep reminding myself, the way to journey through those things isn’t to cut myself off from the one who is the source of all life, goodness, hope and faith. How quick I am to forget the fundamentals about who He is! The way to live in those moments is to choose to lean into Him again, and to lean into a community of faith who can carry me when I need carrying, comfort me when I need comforting, challenge me when I need challenging, and centre me when I’m feeling once again like a day three toothbrush.

Maybe you’ve started 2023 with a bang; quick off the blocks, ready and raring to go. Or maybe, like me, you’ve somewhat crawled into the new year, and it’s only now that we’re into February that you feel like you’re starting to find your feet (if at all!). However you’re feeling, don’t miss the invitation this year to press into the good of all that God has for you when you centre your life on Him.

Perhaps you might want to spend some time reflecting on the ‘New Year Pause’ messages (you can find them all by clicking here), and particularly Adrian’s encouragement to enjoy ‘shoes off’ moments with God, where we set aside time to encounter Him with an attitude that we are “not going anywhere”. Perhaps it’s getting stuck into a Small Group who can journey with you regularly, or dropping a message to a friend that it would be great to meet up and chat about the question “how are you doing living centred on Jesus?”. Perhaps it’s signing up for the next ‘Way to Stay Centred’ course, starting 28th Feb, to explore different practices that help us centre on Jesus.

Life doesn’t always feel like we’re running at 100% charge, and that’s okay! Let’s keep encouraging one another to plug into Jesus this year — pausing, centering and continuing — as we fix our eyes on Him to lead us through 2023 and beyond.