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To Share Life, Some Old Barriers Must Be Crossed

We can now share life with others like never before, but there still remain some old barriers.

I remember when I went away to college years ago. Back then you were cut off from what your family was doing until you went back home.

Sure, we could send and receive letters in the mail to keep up with life on the other side of the country, but by the time we got it, it was old news.

We could call on the telephone, but with the time zone differences and the long distance charges, at least with my family, it was a rare, “special occasion only” form of connecting.

It’s not like that today. We have all kinds of social media and communication technology at our disposal. We can share life with anyone, any family member, no matter where they or we may be.

Distance is no longer a factor to sharing life.

Just the other day, on Canada Day, my wife, Lily, convinced me to stay downtown and watch the fireworks even though I like to be home Saturday night before I preach the next day.

We stood for a long time on a pier waiting for the big event to happen. We figured it would be a good show since it was Canada’s 150th birthday.

We arrived at the pier in daylight with really no one around us, but as the sun went down, more and more people crowded around to get a good spot to watch the fireworks.

Our son was in town and managed a great vantage point, with some friends, on a boat in the harbour.

When the light show began, Lily thought she would video some of it and send it to our daughter, Karlie, in Toronto.

But then she thought, “Why don’t I just video chat the whole thing!”

It was pretty neat. We were standing on a pier in Kingston, holding a phone so that Karlie could watch the fireworks from another city. We could converse with her and see her just like she was standing with us.

In that moment we were sharing life together … even though she was 250 kilometres away.

It’s truly incredible that we now have the ability to carry on with others far away as if they were right next to us.

But even with all this ability to share life, sometimes we have a hard time communicating thoughts and emotions that are inside us.

And it doesn’t matter if a person is beside us or in another country – no amount of technology or social media will cut through the difficulty of sharing parts of our lives with others.

That old saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” describes the barrier that will always exist regardless of how our communication progresses.

We can share life together wherever we are, and yet not really share life at all.

Here’s the thing: Some of us find it difficult to share what’s going on inside us – sometimes we can’t even put a finger on what we are experiencing. Though sharing life experiences is important, it’s equally important to share your thoughts and feelings. The great news is there is an avenue for that. God is listening and wants you to share those thoughts and feelings with Him. He can also provide you with great counsel if you will learn to listen as He shares with you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you used technology to share life with someone? Leave your comments below.

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Why Your Mother-in law May Be Smarter Than Your Smart Phone

My smart phone is a pretty amazing device, but I think my mother-in-law is still smarter.

grama smarter

I had to do a funeral service in Ottawa, about two hours from Kingston where I live. I wanted to make sure that I got to the right place so I googled the name of the cemetery and found an address. I thought, just to be sure there weren’t two cemeteries with the same name or two locations in opposite ends of the city, I would phone my mother-in-law.

There is a reason why I wanted to be sure where I was going. Several years ago, I did a funeral in town and the following day was to do the committal service at a cemetery in another city that I wasn’t familiar with.

I got the address and left with plenty of time to spare. But the map took me to the opposite end of the city from the cemetery! I was so panicky, I pulled into a place where I knew I would find some local people: Tim Horton’s.

With sketchy directions, I drove like a mad man. I’m sure all those gathered, waiting for the late pastor to arrive, heard the roar of my engine as I came screaming into the cemetery and up to the grave side.

There was no way I was going to have that happen again! When I called my mother-in-law, I had to leave a message, so I got on my smart phone and used my map app to get directions. I thought I was all set.

A few hours later, my mother-in-law called me back. When I told her what I did, she casually gave me directions. As she did, I realized that her directions were a little different than those the map app had given me.

I decided to go with my mother-in-law’s directions.

The first indication that I was going to be on time for the service was when I passed the hearse about half way to Ottawa. I knew then, at the speed I was going, I would buy myself several minutes even if I got lost.

In the end, my mother-in-law’s directions were more direct and saved me time. The downside was I had to put up with my smart phone telling me to make a U-turn, and to “get back on route”.

My mother-in-law could outsmart a smart phone because she has lived in that city a long time and she’s driven to that cemetery before. It wasn’t just programmed information she read or somehow digested. She had personal experience with that route.

Here’s the thing: We can read books that give us information about God and His ways. But it is our experience of God and His ways in our life that give us insight and wisdom to help others. Never settle for information about God. Go the next step and experience that information … that will give you real wisdom to share.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: In your life, how has experience trumped information? Leave your comment below.