Am I Plugged In?

     As I sat in the movie theater watching the documentary about Mr. Rogers, an embarrassing memory crossed my mind. One morning at the rec center I’d stepped onto the elliptical, positioned my ear buds, and pushed up the volume on my phone. Only faint music. I cranked up the volume again. Not much more. Then the twenty-something man on the machine next to me pointed to my cord. “Not plugged in.”     
     Oops. I shoved it in, and the music blared into my ears from what had shuffled onto my playlist - a cover of an old Mr. Rogers song. Second embarrassment - the guy next to me had heard it all. I peeked up at him, and he laughed. “Hey, I was into it!”     
     I gave him a sheepish grin and began striding on the elliptical. The warmth of the song’s lyrics swept over me as they had when my kids were little and we watched Mr. Rogers on TV. Like a good father, Mr. Rogers reminded me that I’m growing inside. That I can make a snappy new day. That he has ideas for me. That each day he’ll have things to talk about, and I will, too.
​     And a thought crashed into my head: these words were not only from Mr. Rogers, they were from my heavenly Father. I’m growing inside. We have things to talk about. He has ideas for me. What a message I’d have missed if I hadn’t gone beyond the music and plugged into the spiritual realm.
     I left the rec center to make a snappy new day.
***
​     To hear the B.J. Thomas version of “It’s a Good Feeling,” click here.