When We Don’t ‘Get’ Life

By Dawn Wilson –

“Aaaaurgh! What’s wrong now?”

Staring at my monitor, I tapped my computer mouse harder. “Oh come on!” I yelled, growing more impatient with the “stupid technology!” that wouldn’t work.

Then I looked down at my mouse. Only it wasn’t a mouse. It was my cell phone, next to my mouse.

Jokes abound concerning elderly people using computers. While I don’t consider myself “elderly,” I do sympathize. I read about a grandfather who took a course called “Computers for the Terrified.” He was a quick learner, but kept calling his mouse a “mole.”

I watched a video of a cute old couple that couldn’t figure out how their computer video camera worked. Their chat about how the video wasn’t working (“Is it on? … Is it on?”)—while the camera captured their conversation—is hilarious. Plain and simple, it’s hard for the older generation to keep up with all the changes!

All I had as a child was a boxy television and radio. My mom couldn’t call me in from play on a cell phone. I had to rely on the street lights coming on to know when it was time for dinner. The Bible tells us “knowledge will be increased” in the last days (Daniel 12:4), and we can certainly see this is true.

In 2010, nearly 220,000 patents were granted by the US Patent Office, a sign of the creativity and growing technology in the United States alone. Think of changes in the medical world: MRIs, ultrasound, CT scans, laser surgery. Think about the evolution from the vinyl record to cassettes, eight-track tapes and CDs. Consider iPods and iPads!

In every aspect of life, new technologies and fresh thinking have revolutionized our lives. In the midst of all this change, I am comforted to know that God is never surprised by our new discoveries. The One who created our minds can certainly understand our technologies. It’s sad that with new ways of thinking, many consider God’s ways old-fashioned. They cast off His Word like a 1950’s telephone. The Lord wants to help recognize today’s foolish thinking with His unchanging wisdom.

Jesus encouraged His disciples with a promise—the Spirit of Truth would guide them into all truth and show them “things to come” (John 16:13), to be their teacher as well as their Advocate (John 14:26).

This same Spirit wants to encourage us today: to give us peace when we feel busy and overwhelmed; to give us wisdom when our seventh grader asks us questions and we don’t have a clue; to comfort us when life gets too big for us to handle; to help us choose joy when circumstances get tough.

We can smile when we mistake a cell phone for a mouse, but God understands our real difficulties; and when we don’t “get” life, the Spirit of God is always ready, waiting for our questions.