The word new often implies change, and change can be a bitter pill to swallow especially when one is mired in routine. We’ve had a landline in every place we’ve lived since Shawn and I got together in 1981. I’ve never lost my landline phone. Or dropped it in the toilet. Those laptop-sized devices occupied a prominent spot in our home, and their warble reverberated through every room.
Long ago my ladies adopted cell phone technology with its wealth of applications and gadgetry. The idea of snapping a photo one second and posting it to Facebook the next seemed a necessity rather than a luxury. And who could exist a full day without checking for likes and texts? Of course the entrance fee for cell phoning included the occasional need to hold the phone in various Yoga contortions to get service.
Before their ubiquitous smartphones both daughters did a stretch relying on this Virgin Mobile flip phone, the one eventually passed to dear old Dad in hopes he would catch cordless fever. I parked the phone in a drawer and swore I would never hit number keys multiple times to retrieve letters and spell (or try to spell) words. The texting learning curve was steep but I grew to understand times and places where texting offered advantages over repeated calls in a futile attempt to reach someone. Compose. Send. Done.
While I pounded miniscule keys and created terse messages Shawn spoke into her phone and the characters magically appeared. She sent War and Peace length communiques. I squeezed vital information into 140 characters. Then our granddaughter arrived. As I held Shawn’s phone to see a new picture of Fern I looked at my well-worn but feature-poor phone and decided this will not stand. I am falling behind the technology curve.
The day that my daughters teased me would never arrive has. I cut the cord with my landline vendor, disconnected our phones, and embraced smartphone technology. Yesterday I composed a document on my new phone using my voice, uploaded it to Google Drive, and saw it appear on my desktop moments later. I received (and watched multiple times) a video of Fern making those precious baby sounds as she discovers her voice. Smartphone technology looks promising.
Many of us have knowledge of God’s offer to join His family, but excuses keep us from cutting the cord and making the switch:
- I don’t want to give up the lifestyle I’m used to.
- I’m OK the way I am.
- My friend tried that religion stuff and had a really bad time.
- There’s too much I don’t know about the Bible.
- Christians are hypocrites.
Sound familiar? I delayed the jump to the light speed of a smartphone until I realized some of the benefits I was forfeiting. Sure, I have stuff to learn and always will. Yes, I will make mistakes, lose files, and miss calls because I swipe the wrong button. Moments of sheer frustration? You bet! There will be streams of new apps to evaluate and try. The unknown brings challenges but I’ve determined to move forward on this path. No going back.
In his second letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul described the new beginning waiting someone who joins God’s family.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB
Becoming a new person? New things to experience and discover in the future? Maybe it’s time to embrace this offer? If I can help you decide message me via the Contact page.
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