Saturday, July 21, 2007
Much to do about stuff
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14
The other day I opened my computer as usual only to discover that everything was gone. What a shock! All programs, emails, documents, pictures and files were missing. It was as if somehow during the night the hard drive had been wiped clean. My initial reaction was one of panic. I began to think of all the important data that I had not backed up which now was forever lost. The more I meditated on it, the worse I felt.
At that moment I recognized the familiar feeling of loss for something that could not be changed nor restored. In that instant I realized that I had allowed "stuff" (namely my computer) to hold an important spot in my heart. I had a choice to make. Would I allow myself to be controlled and even devastated by this turn of events, or would I put the loss in it's proper perspective? Things can be replaced. My relationship with God, with my husband, with my children--these are the important things of life. With a contrite heart I turned to the Lord and confessed I had made much to do about stuff.
You know what? None of my circumstances had changed, but the meditation of my heart had turned to thankfulness for the blessings I have and for a loving God who used "stuff" to reboot my attitude.
5 Comments:
Dear Friend,
I am sorry for the loss of this "stuff", but thank you for this great reminder that such is just "stuff". The REAL things in life are just that: REAL and are not losable because they are in HIS care.
Lovingly,
M
dear mom Carol, I can't deny that i admire you because you can always find a blessing even to a worst things that happened to you life everyday...hope i can be like you.
Hi Carol,
I can totally understand your feeling of dismay. The computer problems I had earlier this year resulted in my loss of important documents & scanned pictures, too. Some documents will need to be retyped and pictures rescanned. While reading your blog and thinking about my lost computer files, God pointed out to me that even though electronic files can't be "seen" or "touched," they are still very real and valuable. In that I just realized they are like the feelings of others, which are equally real and valuable, but can't be seen or touched. I'm reminded of the many times I've not been as thoughtful of other's feelings as I should be - not Christ-like. Definitely a sobering realization and energizer for me to walk much closer to our Lord.
Love you dear friend,
MS
Ah ha!! So you up and get married while I am still on the road. I am sooooooooo happy for you. I remember calling you right after you were asked on your first 'date'. You go girl. Hugs, your evil stepsister!
Carol, your take on life's situations really blesses me. I like this idea of God "rebooting" an attitude. Great analogy there.
By the way, the verse you include in your post is one I used to repeat every Sunday night at youth group many years ago. We'd stand and say it together. It has stuck with me all my life.
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