Vol. 20 No. 29 | July 16, 2018
There was a time when children traveled with their parents to the grocery store, the doctor’s office, or post office to mail a letter (a what?). There was a time when children would wait while dad put gas in the car and listen to the radio, look out the window, or talk to each other in the car. They had no devices to play games on or watch movies or surf Instagram.
There once was a time when you had to open the window of the car by turning a knob and cranking it down. If you needed directions, you used a cumbersome map that was kept in the glove pocket.
There was a time when in order get ice, you had to pull a tray from the freezer by pulling a lever to crack the ice, then dump it out of the tray…making sure your hands weren’t wet so they wouldn’t stick to the tray.
Some remember the days when there were no 24-hour news stations. Why would anyone need that much news? You had to wait until it came on one of the three channels. And the only sports coverage was the game of the week on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not advocating we go back to those times. I love advanced technology that allows me to write this article on my laptop while flying to witness the arrival of our fifth grandchild. And even if we couldn’t make the trip, we could have watched the first moments after the baby’s arrival on any number of electronic devices.
I also appreciate the advances in the medical community that provide faster and more accurate diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. I appreciate the option to get ice from the door of a refrigerator and the fact that I can wash and dry my clothes from inside my house.
These are good times we live in. But these days aren’t necessarily any better or worse. They’re just different. We functioned and even thrived in the days before smartphones, and we can function and thrive now that we have them.
It is not the stuff we have or don’t have that makes life good, it is what we do with the days we have.
We can have every gadget in the world and huge houses and additional storage spaces to keep them in, and still be miserable. And we can live in the poorest of neighborhoods and struggle to pay the bills and still find contentment and peace.
The Psalmist wrote these words: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 92:12, NIV)
The writer of Proverbs said:
“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9, NIV)
The Apostle wrote these words: Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV)
Jesus spoke these words: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33, NIV)
When it’s all said and done, one of the keys to living and enjoying life is to focus more on how we live than on what we have or don’t have as we live.
My advice for this week is to give our maximum energy to living each day to the fullest and loving every person as much as we possibly can.
UPDATE: #5 Granddaughter – Jennilu Henderson Norvell – made her appearance at 3:37 PM EST on July 15, 2018. Baby, Mom, Dad, and two big sisters are healthy and full of joy. Oh, this Papa is blessed beyond imagination.
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