On the Spiritual Journey
 We aren’t riding a horse-drawn sleigh over the river and through the hills to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving this week and - by all indications - there won’t be snow on the ground. However, the warm sentiments of family togetherness these holiday lyrics evoke are wonderful ones. They conjure up images of the old television series, The Waltons, the somewhat sappy yet comforting tale of a three-generation farm family living together in the country in a rambling home with a large front porch.
We’re talkin’ the days when the front porch was The gathering place. Air conditioning and television had yet to invade homes. Families meandered to the porch to catch a breeze, tell stories, share the local gossip with neighbors and relax after their labors. My generation caught the tail end of these sweetly portrayed times.
There were no organized sports. Games of baseball, hide and seek and kick the can were organized by the neighborhood kids with no uniforms, entrance fees or adult fans shouting for their children to beat the other team.
I suppose my children don’t even think this lifestyle was real, and if so, it must have been dull beyond belief. Imagine having to walk a mile down the road to visit your friend, or live without a cell phone, iPod, Facebook or the Internet. Imagine being tied to the seasons, sweating in the summer and shivering in the winter. Imagine shelling peas on the porch or just hanging around there sipping lemonade with your parents and grandparents on a lazy weekend afternoon. Imagine not playing Angry Birds when you’re bored or curling up in bed to watch your favorite shows on your own personal laptop.
Oh, how the world has advanced!
Regardless of how great are the innovations that lure our children’s attention, I don’t think they have really changed their nature as such. Humans, we need to connect with others. In our heart of hearts, we still long for love and understanding, joy and laughter, appreciation and gratitude.
Born with spiritual longings, we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We want to stretch beyond physical and mental boundaries to reach the fruit high above the tallest of trees. We have hopes and dreams that are boundless.
Technology, having brought us far from the rural life that once was the nation’s norm; having given us control of temperature; microwaved peas on the dinner table all year long; and access to the world at our fingertips, can also help us reach our hopes and dreams.
The challenge for us is to teach our children that technology is simply a tool to use for the good. It is an evangelization tool for us, Christian disciples, to use in spreading God’s message of love. There are apps for daily readings and inspirational messages. They can twitter words of kindness and encouragement in 140-characters or less. They can upload positive songs onto their iPods and share them with friends who need a pick-me-up. They can read the Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings on their Kindles.
While many of us long for the supposedly good ole days when life was less complex, somehow we have to get our heads around the wonderful notion that good is present in every age, regardless of how fast we think the world is whirling. The Apostles are present today and they’re all have websites and two-year cell phone plans.
And so I pray: Dear Lord, give us the faith to see You in the present age and the insight to use technology as Your medium. And, Lord, if you happen to know where I can take a horse-drawn sleigh ride….
©2011, E. Jane Rutter |
