Old Stuff

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. Psalm 16:8

I was doing a presentation not long ago and a woman came up during the lunch break with a question about something she heard.  She said she had gotten part of the quote but didn’t catch the end so she wanted me to help her fill in the blanks.  When she laid down her notebook I was stunned to discover she had been furiously taking notes all morning in shorthand! I could hardly believe my eyes.  She smirked and said it was so much faster and good for her memory; she couldn’t understand why nobody used shorthand anymore. It made me wonder how many other things seemed like the greatest idea at the time but faded away as time passed by; I thought of a few.

L’eggs pantyhose plastic eggs…those things were huge!  I tried to use them as Easter eggs one year when the boys were little but it took nearly a pound of M&M’s to fill one up. They were creative and a great marketing idea but considering the fact that a pair of pantyhose only lasts about a day, I wonder where all those eggs are now.

Extra-long telephone cords…you know, the ones that let you walk into the next room to talk in private on your party line.

Tapes…8-Track, Cassette, VHS; each one started its own entertainment revolution but they’ve all become obsolete...even if you’re still hanging on to a BeeGee’s 8-track or a Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA cassette there’s no way to play it.

Self-correcting electric typewriters…wow those were a great invention even if I never could figure out how to change those little orange doodads that held the correction tape.

At the risk of making myself seem ancient I’m going to stop there.  Why do I bring all this stuff up for heaven’s sake?  Simple, each of those things took the world by surprise and by storm.  Each offered a glimpse of something better and more modern.  They were really good ideas developed by smart people but their usefulness expired and they were replaced by the next great idea.  For some people that’s sad, for others it’s a chance to celebrate and embrace the next best thing.  When you get right down to it though, it’s really a lesson in rolling with change and finding our constants.  I know it’s easy to get all tangled up in progress and change but things are gonna come and go as fast as an 8-track tape so is it really worth  the fuss and wasted energy pouting about the good ole days…back when things were simple?  I think the more out of focus and crazy our lives get the easier it is to drift backwards and think those simpler times would solve everything.  The truth of the matter is we’re kidding ourselves if we think a ringer washers or a car with a trunk the size of a soccer field is going to fix anything. 

It isn’t about the era or the invention, it’s about the focus and our focus can get pretty out of whack.  We need to remember it isn’t the changing stuff that creates the problem; it’s about fussin over the stuff instead of hitching our focus firmly around the one thing that will NEVER change and that is our Good, Good Father.  He’s so much bigger than changing technology, appliances and fashions.  We have to believe faithfulness to him will never go out of style, will always fit and will always be just the perfect thing for the job. We worry a lot about being “in style” but if you think something old, like shorthand makes sense don’t be afraid to use it but remember that the Good Lord has never cared about progress and technology and fashion, he simply cares about our hearts so don’t let the stuff get in the way.

A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of things that take your focus from the Lord; lift it up to him and ask him to show you how to see more clearly.

Blessings on your day!