Growing Every Day

For her ninth birthday, Chloe received the bicycle she had dreamed about for months. It was bright blue with white tires, a shiny silver bell, and a basket on the front.

She rode it everywhere. To the park. To church. Around the neighborhood with friends.

But after several months, Chloe stopped taking care of it. She left it outside in the rain. She never cleaned it. The tires slowly lost air. The chain became rusty.

One afternoon she tried riding with her dad, but the pedals barely moved.

“Dad! It’s broken!”

He knelt beside the bicycle. “It didn’t break all at once.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed to the rusty chain. “The rain.” Then the flat tires. “The air.” Then the muddy gears. “The dirt.”

“It wasn’t one big thing,” Dad explained. “It was lots of little things that were ignored.”

Together they washed the bike, added oil to the chain, pumped up the tires, and tightened a few loose bolts. Soon it rode like new again.

On the way home Dad smiled. “You know… this bicycle reminds me of us.”

Chloe looked confused.

“If we don’t take care of our bodies, our minds, our friendships, or our relationship with God, little problems begin to build up.”

“So we need maintenance too?”

Dad laughed. “Exactly.”

From that day on, Chloe made caring for her bicycle - and herself - a regular habit.

Noah loved technology. One Christmas he received a new drone.

After flying it several days in a row, he noticed something. The batteries eventually ran out. No matter how amazing the drone was, it couldn’t keep flying forever without stopping to recharge.

A few weeks later Noah found himself feeling exhausted.

Basketball practice. Homework. Youth group. Band. Helping around the house. Late-night video games.

He was tired all the time.

One Saturday morning he sat quietly at the breakfast table. His mom noticed. “Everything okay?”

“I’m just worn out.”

That afternoon his grandfather stopped by. After hearing about Noah’s busy schedule, Grandpa picked up one of the drone batteries.

“What happens when this runs out?”

“I recharge it.”

“Why?”

“Because it won’t fly otherwise.”

Grandpa smiled. “Neither will you.”

He drew four boxes on a piece of paper.

Body. Mind. Heart. Spirit.

“You have four batteries.”

Noah leaned closer.

“Your body needs sleep, healthy food, and exercise. Your mind needs learning. Your heart needs friends, family, and encouragement. And your spirit needs time with God. If you only recharge one battery, eventually the others become empty.”

For the next month Noah made small changes.

He went to bed earlier. He spent fifteen minutes reading his Bible each morning. He rode his bike more often. He put his phone away during dinner so he could talk with his family.

Slowly something changed. He wasn’t just less tired. He was happier. More patient. More focused.

One evening Grandpa asked, “How are your batteries?”

Noah grinned. “Charged.”