I haven’t been fully tech savvy since my days at Iowa State when I programmed computers with punch cards. (Google that, you young’uns.)

So when things start to go wonky with my computer, I begin to feel a bit anxious. Such was the case last week when I kept getting cryptic storage problem messages. Despite figuring out how to delete some temp files, the problem kept coming back.

I found a computer tech group with great reviews (Little Dog Tech for you locals) and after the initial review, it was clear I needed some additional storage. Apparently the folder with all my ministry stuff in it was plumb full! A project for another day perhaps.

As the tech was preparing to add the storage, he noticed that my battery was starting to balloon. He informed me that this would most likely eventually lead to my battery bursting into flames! Oh yes, it’s not a ploy to sell more batteries; this is a real thing and I was headed that direction at some point if I didn’t address it.

Because of some other support-ending issues, I decided to bite the bullet and replace my 6-7 year-old laptop. Yeah, I’m one of those …

That’s my public service announcement for you all. Don’t panic, but ask a trusted tech friend. This igniting can happen without any direct input from the user. So, in other words, my laptop could have eventually caught on fire when I wasn’t even home.

As a widow who lives alone with just my Miss Maisy, I have often wondered what would happen if somehow there was a fire in my house while I was gone. I don’t like to think about it because there’s likely nothing I could do in my absence and I would just have to deal with the ensuing devastation the best I could.

But this potential battery hazard felt very real to me and it reminded me of how our lives can be turned upside down in just moments. Not a very comforting thought, is it?

Many (probably most) of you have experienced that, whether it was an unexpected death, or a difficult health diagnosis, or a natural disaster, or a job loss, or a family crisis, or innumerable other ways that our lives can feel like they’re falling apart.

So, what’s the solution? Especially when you can’t anticipate the crisis, like my “smoldering” battery.

From a practical standpoint, it would behoove us to take care of any safety issues that we may have been ignoring because “we’ll get to that eventually.” Maybe it’s a funny sound in your car. Perhaps there’s a loose railing around your deck. Or some uneven concrete. Or that pesky health issue that you’ve been ignoring.

We probably all have a few of those lurking in our sub-consciences! Maybe this battery PSA can serve as a wake-up call to some other areas that need attention.

Of course, we cannot foresee every eventuality and God certainly doesn’t want us living a life of fear. That’s where the real heart of this lesson comes in.

I have to use one of my favorite sayings, which might be a bit cliché, but is absolutely full of truth.

“I don’t know what tomorrow holds,

but I know who holds tomorrow.”

To live a life absent of fear or anxiety or dread means we have to let go of what we never had control of in the first place, and trust our days to a God who is sovereign and trustworthy, and who loves us more fully than we could ever comprehend.

This life will include “fiery trials” (1 Peter 4:12) – how ironic is that? So knowing to whom you can turn when that’s where you find yourself is key to living a victorious Christian life.

Fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10