Plugging in to God

Posted by: Leah Gartner, Director of Marketing and Events | Monday, September 29th, 2025 (12:00am)

I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them will produce much fruit.—(John 15:5)

Well, it’s happened…. middle age! I was walking around minding my own business, and it just crept up on me while I wasn’t even looking. I have officially moved into the phase of life when sometimes I long for the “good old days.” My 40’s are very quickly becoming a thing of the past, and I often find myself reminiscing about simpler times. Like the years before smart phones, when people couldn’t get ahold of me 24/7, and I didn’t feel pressure to immediately respond. I get in a group chat now and I can’t type fast enough to keep up. My kids don’t even use words anymore, they just send messages in meme form. I need a butterscotch candy.

There was a time that I had to buy a fashion magazine to see what the upcoming trends would be, but now my social media feed is full of influencers talking about their Amazon hauls, and trends changing faster than Jahmyr Gibbs running in for a touchdown (GO LIONS!). There are too many new hair products, too many diet plans, new paint color trends, pills that will make menopause easier, things that I should no longer eat, conspiracy theories about the world being flat... there is just TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

How can there be so much noise coming from a such a small thing? A world of distraction and static in the palm of my hand.

The invention of the smart phone has, in many ways, made life easier and advanced technology faster than we ever could have imagined. But it has also made the worries of this world front and center and on constant repeat. I click on one story about a new exercise routine and ten more stories follow. I begin to fixate on how, if I did that workout, maybe I would look like her. Another click on a headline and the next thing I know I feel like the world is going to end, and I can feel the anxiety creep up. What is going to happen to my family? What is the world going to be like for my kids and grandkids?

Oh, how I long for the “good old days,” because now it seems I have to fight a lot harder for peace and connection to the One who brings it.

In Mark we see Jesus using stories to teach, with one of his most famous stories being the parable of the sower. The sower threw seed and it fell on various surfaces. Some fell on the path, some on the rocky ground, and some among the thorns. Later, Jesus explained the parable to the disciples by saying:

“[Some people are like seed who] ... are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke out the word and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).

Now I have read these verses and heard sermons and Sunday school lessons about them so many times I have lost count, but I quickly realized that I, a middle-aged woman who doesn’t even like technology, was allowing a little phone to choke out God’s Word in my life. I was giving the world and what it cares about way more of my time and thought than Scripture. And it was showing in my fruit.

The fruit of focusing on the world does not bring life or connection. It brings worry, fear, and disconnection. The fruit of the world is lack and discontent and leading me to believe that, if I just had this one more thing, I would be happy. The fruit of the world lures me away from the true source of life...Jesus. "I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them will produce much fruit” (John 15:5).

I need to set aside the distractions of this world and focus on Jesus and His Word. When I focus on Him, I find my true worth and value. When I focus on the Word I can “cast my cares upon Him because he cares about me”(1 Peter 5:7). I can love someone who disagrees with me because I know they too are made in the image of God. When I focus on the Word and its truth, it will begin to bear good fruit. I will have joy that is not dependent on my circumstances or how my jeans fit at the moment. I will be more patient with my kids and gentle with those around me. I will even have the self-control to stop the scroll... hmm, that needs to be on a t-shirt!

I guess it isn’t just the kids who need to cut back on the screen time. This middle-aged woman is also learning how to unplug from the world and plug in to the One who made it.