Don’t get left behind.

Nobody wants to get left behind, not in a race, not when friends leave, not when the rapture occurs. But many in my generation are finding themselves left behind by technology.

The first personal computers were a challenge with their MS-DOS soft disks called hard, and their hard ones called floppy. Just turning it on was a problem, and it took me a decade to learn what the initials “PC” meant.

Then came mobile phones. Nate had a car phone back when they operated on a you-talk-I-talk system much like walkie-talkies. But that was kindergarten compared to cell phones.

My children, who found each new tech toy a joy to “play with” told me, “Mom, it’s just like speaking a new language. Learn the vocabulary, and you’ll be able to communicate with all this stuff.”

I love words, at least those of real languages, but tech-talk comes from outer space. Even so, I don’t want to be left behind with an unwillingness to learn, so recently I stood in front of a wall of gleaming, new-fangled cell phones at an AT&T store.

“My old phone doesn’t work,” I told the clerk, a darling sales-child who looked like a middle schooler. She frowned as I handed over my battered red slide-phone, the one I labored to love 3 years ago and had no intention of surrendering.

“I like my phone,” I told her, reading her face like a sentence that said, “Poor old lady, can’t keep up.”

“If you could just duplicate this,” I said, “I’ll leave happy.”

“Well,” she began, trying to talk slow enough for me to comprehend, “we don’t have that exact phone anymore, but let’s look at your account, shall we?”

Ushering me to the counter, she leaned into her computer for a minute, then broke into a broad grin. “I have some fantastic news! You’re eligible for a $400 phone completely free of charge!”

One mentally-taxing hour later, she’d demonstrated three different “smart phones” to a dumb listener, finishing with a flourish: “A smart phone can be your GPS, your ipod, your calendar, your calculator, your…” at which point she lost me. My mind was occupied with a picture of a waste basket overflowing with my red phone, my new GPS, my perfectly good ipod, my calendar, my calculator, my…

“Do you offer tutoring?” I said, looking for an excuse to turn her down.

“Come in anytime, and we’ll help you.” She paused and studied my crinkled expression then said, “How would you like my cell number? You can call me personally, although not after 10:00 pm.”

That did it.

While she readied the paper work, I thought of how simple and timeless it is to communicate with the God of the Universe. No buttons, screens or prompts. No learning curve.  Just a prayer breathed or a thought directed toward him. It’s always been that way and will never require repair. Talking with God is free of charge and upgrading doesn’t apply. Best of all, he will see to it we never get left behind.

So I signed for a smart phone that’s smarter than I am, probably not a smart thing to do.

“Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.” (Psalm 55:17)

6 thoughts on “Don’t get left behind.

  1. Keep us posted on how the ‘tutoring’ is going. Thinking of you and your kids today, Father’s Day 2011.

  2. You have given me some food for thought! I’m about to upgrade, and am clueless about all the hi-tech gizmos. My kids “try” to help me understand….

  3. My phone is okay – it’s David’s phone that needs to be upgrade – but he isn’t ready to part with his very old cell phone that has seen better days. And someone should invent an app called “God” so people who don’t normally want to talk to God, can with the push of a button:)

  4. Good luck-I have yet to go smart! I watch the Mills boys use theirs so casually!!!

  5. I love that you are in my group when it comes to all of the technology. I have just recently moved from my flip phone to a “droid” – WOW it is truly amazing what these phones will do the only problem is that we have to know how to make them function. I know that you will enjoy your new phone once you figure out how to make it function!!!HA!!! Jeremy has been my helper and he laughs at me all the time. I know that Nelson would be a great tutorer if he were home! Lots of love always!