We all get frustrated with our computer sometimes, but do you ever get frustrated with someone else’s?

The other day I found myself a little frustrated with a friend’s computer. 

I’m a Mac guy and have been since the late 80’s. I’ve always maintained one computer is not inferior to the other; it is just what you get used to. If you are used to Mac OS, the Windows world seems difficult to navigate. The opposite is true to a Windows’ user and the Mac seems awkward to use. 

For many people it comes down to preference, much like our preference for cars.

I have never owned a Ford automobile and probably never will. My dad never bought Fords and maybe that’s where I got it from. Maybe it’s how they look, maybe it’s a reputation I’ve picked up on, but I don’t want to own one. 

Someone else might tell me I’m nuts, that Fords are the best cars and trucks on the market. It comes down to our preference. 

The thing is, you don’t get frustrated over someone else’s preference. It doesn’t get in the way of you doing what you want or driving what you want to drive.

The other day, however, I was frustrated with my friend’s choice of computer that he uses. 

I am trying to offload some of my responsibilities to other people. I won’t be able to do them forever and I need others to take on some of the things I do at work.

Updating our website is one of those things. 

This task is second nature to me because I’ve been doing it for so long, but to hand this task off well, I wrote out clear step-by-step instructions of what someone would need to do. It was all going to be easy … except that my friend couldn’t do some of the required steps on his computer. 

I have a program that is native to my Mac that edits pdf documents. It is so easy. I can delete pages from a pdf and also save the document to a different file format. I just assumed this could be done as simply on a PC. 

But no, it could not. There was no program that could make the changes to a pdf on his computer. 

I certainly wasn’t going to suggest that he spend a lot of money to buy a program that would work. So I was left frustrated that I still had to do much of the work to update the website. If he worked on a Mac, he could have done what I do. 

But this week I found a work-around. I have sent him to two websites – one website can delete pages from a pdf, and the other can save a pdf to a jpg file. 

I’m hoping I’ll be able to hand the whole operation over to him now. 

Here’s the thing: When you read the Old Testament, there are certain places where you can possibly see God’s frustration with people – in the garden with Adam and Eve, in the days of Noah, and certainly many times with the Israelites. But God didn’t let frustration get in the way of what He wanted – a relationship with us that was unhindered by sin. God’s solution was to send His Son to pay for the sins of the world. Now there is no frustration. We can have an unhindered relationship with God if we place our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. The frustration is removed through Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What frustration in your life needs fixing? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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