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The Other Half The Other Half
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I must confess that I did not want us to join the "internet club"! For a long time I persuaded Charles that it was yet another way of people invading our lives - another reason for him to sit at the computer (I actually wrote typewriter first, so you can see how far back this goes!) and for me a temptation to spend hours 'surfing' which I could do without. You will realise that we finally joined the modern world and most of what I thought has proved true ( surprisingly NOT the surfing bit!) but it is only in the last few weeks that I have been REALLY glad to be 'on the net'. Charles has always appreciated the ease of communication but for me, the delight of e-mailing has become a reality because Tom, our youngest son, is away in far distant lands. It has been a joy to be able to write to him with family news and he has been amazing at keeping in touch. It was a very different story when Adam, our oldest son, went travelling thirteen years ago and we had to rely on postcards, letters and phone calls. There must be Internet cafes on every street corner in Thailand, as Tom finds time to write frequently and is obviously enjoying our news from home while exploring the world of backpacker. And then, today, the real blessing of the World Wide Web came to me. We heard from American friends of a major problem in their lives and suddenly the world was too big for hugging and yet small enough for immediate communication. It meant that I was able to reply immediately expressing our love and our concern. It meant that our prayers could start at once - as could those from everyone else who received the news. News which, in the past, would take days or weeks to filter through the system could be with us almost as fast as the thought formed. Isn't that wonderful? I'm glad the Lord has an instant communication system. The question is - are we part of it? The more I think about it the more I realise that communication with God is a bit like the internet. There are major differences, of course - I know that God makes his own rules - but generally speaking …… We need to be part of the system for it to work - we have to switch on for a start. Am I storing so much unnecessary information in the storage area that it is no longer able to receive new messages? Have I ignored something important which came a while back but I just can't face it now - will deal with it tomorrow? Have I forwarded to someone else something that would benefit their lives or have I kept it for my own benefit and enjoyment? We do actually need to write the "mail" in order to communicate, and the whole process can be destroyed by nasty viruses which are often nothing at all to do with us but get in because we have not taken steps to protect ourselves. The great difference is that God NEVER sends junk mail and He already knows what I want to say and has probably been waiting for me to contact Him so that He can send me the answer. And we thought the internet system was new! Sue Whitehead
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