I
can't believe I just did that. I groaned and covered my face in disbelief.
When
my husband’s desktop computer, where most of my hi-res images were stored,
began freezing up days before we were to leave for Louisiana over Christmas, I immediately
began transferring photos onto disks while simultaneously working on my laptop to
meet a magazine deadline.
An
hour into that multi-tasking between the desktop and laptop, I stood to answer
the phone and stepped on the laptop I'd foolishly left closed on the floor. I
opened it up to find dark purple lines spreading across the now broken screen.
For
months we'd been frustrated by poor cell phone service in our house. In an
attempt to improve it, our carrier provided us with a signal booster that
worked through wifi, but our rural internet service was unreliable. To add to
the frustration, we had discontinued our land line years ago to justify
purchasing cell service – a decision we now regretted. To make a phone call
without our conversation breaking up or the call dropped, we had to leave the
house.
Technology
designed to improve communication was not working well for us, and we were
locked into a family contract that would be costly to cancel early.
In Louisiana,
with family who shared that contract, we switched to a more reliable and
expensive carrier, bought new phones, and negotiated with our former carrier to
drop the early contract cancellation fees.
But our
computer woes only worsened. When we returned home, the desktop computer had
died completely while we were gone.
My laptop
was useable, but barely. Writing and editing photos with a distorted screen was
a challenge I reserved for meeting important magazine deadlines, while other writing
goals were put on hold until our finances following Christmas and the purchase
of new cell phones would allow for new computers and the technical help I need
to retrieve photos off the desktop.
A
month later, we’re making progress. We replaced
the laptop and desktop last week – this blog post is proof – but the process of
recreating lost files, moving data off the damaged laptop and retrieving photos
from the desktop will take time.
Our family’s
recent technology woes have challenged our assumption that technology is a
gift, but when it works and we make wise decisions to back-up data and avoid
carelessness – technology assists our work in the world, in our home, in our
relationships and in ministry.
Some
of the many benefits technology has provided our family without our ever
leaving home include the opportunities to work, pay bills, manage our finances,
earn college credit, conduct research before making major purchases, be better
informed healthcare consumers, order prescriptions, communicate with healthcare
providers, remain connected to family and friends, and shop from a variety of
sources that often offer free shipping.
That
challenge – as with all good things in life – is to use the benefits of
technology wisely and with moderation. Online shopping can lead to impulse
buying and overspending. Abusing access to friends and family can damage our
relationships with false expectations and over-protection. Without disciplined
work habits, including the time we make ourselves available to work and
minimizing distractions, we can adopt unhealthy practices leading to either laziness
to the detriment of our work or over-working that sacrifices our relationships.
All of these can stunt our spiritual maturity, damage our witness, and lead us
away from the abundant life in Christ for which we were created.
Of all the gifts of technology, our greatest joys can come from using it in the work
of furthering the Gospel.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace….in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:10-11
How have you experienced
technology at work in your life?
