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The New Year has not started out very well for Yours Truly. After the first day of the new year, my life went south for the rest of the winter. All I can say is, I hope it has a wonderful winter, and don't forget to write.
Speaking of writing, I can sum up my feelings at this moment by saying, "I hate my computer."
Perhaps, you may think the word "hate" a little too strong. Under normal circumstances, I would agree wholeheartedly. These, however, are not normal circumstances by a long shot.
And, believe me, I've been tempted to do some shooting.
Usually, I'm good-natured, and easily get along with everyone around me. I go out of my way to be nice and courteous to people.
At the grocery store, I always hold the door open for people; on the highway, I always yield to the other driver, without employing hand gestures; and in a restaurant, I always smile at the waitress, no matter how much she messes up my order.
However, everything and everyone has a limit — and I have reached my limit in this matter. The new near has barely gotten underway and already a snag has raised its ugly head in my direction and grinned. And boy, do I despise that grin.
This snag, to put it mildly, has to do with my computer. Oh, how I miss my old typewriter at times. It was such a faithful companion to me in my work. Rarely did it disappoint me or let me down. It always responded to the slightest touch of my fingers.
Then the sad day came when I traded my old reliable typewriter in for a computer. At the time, I thought I had upgraded into heaven. I did not know I was setting myself up for a crash. How could I? Everyone told me a computer would solve all my problems.
In the beginning, it lulled me into a false sense of competency. It actually made me believe I was in control of my computer. And, for a while, it looked like I was.
This past week I was working on several projects. With my computer, I can have three projects open at the same time and work on them simultaneously. I was working on my Sunday sermon, my weekly column and a fantastic article I was writing for a magazine.
I was in high heaven, going from one project to another and making wonderful progress. In fact, I was having such a great time that I forgot to save any of my work.
Several times during my work that afternoon I heard a mischievous snicker coming from somewhere, but I was having too much fun to pay attention to it. In hindsight, I should have stopped right there and pondered the situation.
The sermon I was working on was simply marvelous. I can never remember being in greater sermonic form. Everything just seemed to flow. The ideas opened up right before my eyes, which truly delighted me.
I could not wait to preach this sermon come Sunday morning. I was quite sure my congregation would be delighted with this masterpiece.
When the ideas slowed in the sermon preparation, I simply jumped over to the weekly column and began working on it. Like the sermon, the column was going fantastic. I couldn't believe the roll I was on at the time.
There are times when you know what you're doing is good. Then there are times when you know what you're doing is great. I had never had a column come together so smoothly and quickly as this one. My readers will be awed with such eloquence.
When I was stuck on my column, I switched over to the magazine article I was writing. In a few moments, I was completely emerged in writing the article. Like the sermon and column before it, the article unfolded before me like a rose in June. I luxuriated in the aroma of greatness.
By this time, I was feeling pretty good about myself. This should have been a flashing red light for me. In my defense, I was assuming the new year brought new rules for me.
I've given it an awful lot of thought; I do not know what happened next.
But, evidently, I pressed a button I should not have pressed. In the next second, my computer shut off completely. For several minutes, I just stared, dumbfounded, at my blank computer screen — one blank to another.
When I came to my senses, I restarted my computer. No matter how diligently I searched, those three files were nowhere to be found. The question plaguing my tortured mind was, do files that are not saved go to hell? They surely were not on my computer.
The thing bothering me the most was, I could not remember the details of my sermon, my column, or the terrific article I was writing. It was as if my magnificent trio did not exist.
In pondering my quandary, a scripture verse came to mind. "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:12-13 KJV.)
No matter how difficult my life seems, Jesus is the "escape key" that enables me to endure.
The Reverend James L. Snyder is an award winning author whose writings have appeared in more than eighty periodicals including GUIDEPOSTS. In Pursuit of God: The Life of A. W. Tozer, Snyder’s first book, won the Reader’s Choice Award in 1992 by Christianity Today. Through thirty years of ministry, he and his wife Martha have been involved in three church-planting projects prior to their current ministry at the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Florida. The Snyders have three children and four grandchildren.
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