News From Afar
No… money is not the greatest blessing. Getting more of it is not a blessing either – although admittedly a little more might relieve some of the stress that everyone feels at times. Yet if I had more – more would not be enough because I am just like the rest of the world out there – I would need more again at that point.
Yet I have re-discovered recently the wonder of another great blessing. That great blessing was to receive ‘news from afar’. Through the wonders of the Internet and the many new programs I have been able to hear from the past. It was way back in the ‘older years’ with the snail mail that I lost these folks. Now with the new connectivity I have been reconnected to old friends.
As I speak with others they too are thoroughly enjoying the new connectivity they have discovered in these last weeks. This new connecting would have only happened at an old school reunion – in the old days. But if you never made it to the reunion – it just never took place and people continued to move further and further from each other. Friends that were the closest became the furthest away. They were simply lost.
Email has made a difference. Instant and cost effective, my friends have popped up in my Inbox – from out of no where. The advent of the ‘FaceBook’ has brought more people together than any other program that I know. It is the most recent at this writing – but certainly not the first…nor the last.
In the last few weeks I have been delighted to hear from people that were very close to Alida and me, but with our many moves we lost them. Add to that they moved too.
Now I am following up wherever I can to hear more about their lives and what has been taking place.
A friend of mine recently told me of her meeting with an old friend from kindergarten (at least early school days..). She and her husband were delighted to travel to meet this one from so long ago. I was impressed by the account. Impressed because they followed through and came together – that took effort. Impressed also…that they just plain remembered each other. Wow… that is a lot of years!
Some of the stories have not all been rosy. Good things have not always happened to each person. Sometimes deep tragedy has marked a few paths. But even with some sad stories there has been reunion – and it has been good.
The Rough Side…
I think that dependency on the technology is the one draw back. When my computer breaks down, so does my connection and discoveries of each day. I have come to depend on this silly thing called “Computer”.
Recently…when the repair shop told me that it would be possibly six weeks separation for a recent problem – I nearly died on the spot. How can something so instant, so fast, so important be separated from me for that long? Ouch!
With all that I have discovered in this “eWorld” over these past years (and am discovering each day…) I am hurt deeply when the machine dies. My machine has taken on a ‘personhood’.
Go back along time ago – when these old friends were connected to us regularly – and have a machine break down then. There was never a loss like there is now. If the telephone line was broken or the lightening strike had done its job – you were not at a feeling of tremendous loss of the vital link that we relied on. There was no ‘ouch’.
Each new discovery of an old friend has made a change on my present. I am drawn back to the old days and old memories. I spend more and more time reaching out to the past…less and less time with the present building of new friends. That has been a wee bit of a draw back for some I know. The new discoveries have lost them to the present world.
A New Thought…
I have made a commitment to not lose a grip on the real world – as I rediscover the past. I do not want to lose the present with ‘News from afar’.
I have resolved to make one new friend for every old friend I hear from. I bet that seems odd to some reading this. But it is very necessary in my case. Without it I become isolated with the old…and never discover the new.
Some of the seniors around me have recently reminded me of the need to keep their doors open to new friends. In a senior’s home nearby I have discovered a new friend. We plan to meet from time to time over wood carving. We both have an interest and want to pursue a new friendship together. A lot like two boys that once lived in the same neighbourhood – we are new friends.
It feels good today…to say the least. I have connected with old friends and made new ones too.
How about you? Lost any friends that you would like to find? Maybe some bridges were burned…and with distance you lost some important connections? What would you have to do to rebuild? I was thinking this and bingo… another email arrived from a very old friend.
How about you? Have you made any new friends this week? Some one is waiting to find you today.
Have a great week connecting. Some one is waiting to hear from you. It will be good news from afar.
~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~
Proverbs 25:25 - The Living Bible -
“Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.”
Yet I have re-discovered recently the wonder of another great blessing. That great blessing was to receive ‘news from afar’. Through the wonders of the Internet and the many new programs I have been able to hear from the past. It was way back in the ‘older years’ with the snail mail that I lost these folks. Now with the new connectivity I have been reconnected to old friends.
As I speak with others they too are thoroughly enjoying the new connectivity they have discovered in these last weeks. This new connecting would have only happened at an old school reunion – in the old days. But if you never made it to the reunion – it just never took place and people continued to move further and further from each other. Friends that were the closest became the furthest away. They were simply lost.
Email has made a difference. Instant and cost effective, my friends have popped up in my Inbox – from out of no where. The advent of the ‘FaceBook’ has brought more people together than any other program that I know. It is the most recent at this writing – but certainly not the first…nor the last.
In the last few weeks I have been delighted to hear from people that were very close to Alida and me, but with our many moves we lost them. Add to that they moved too.
Now I am following up wherever I can to hear more about their lives and what has been taking place.
A friend of mine recently told me of her meeting with an old friend from kindergarten (at least early school days..). She and her husband were delighted to travel to meet this one from so long ago. I was impressed by the account. Impressed because they followed through and came together – that took effort. Impressed also…that they just plain remembered each other. Wow… that is a lot of years!
Some of the stories have not all been rosy. Good things have not always happened to each person. Sometimes deep tragedy has marked a few paths. But even with some sad stories there has been reunion – and it has been good.
The Rough Side…
I think that dependency on the technology is the one draw back. When my computer breaks down, so does my connection and discoveries of each day. I have come to depend on this silly thing called “Computer”.
Recently…when the repair shop told me that it would be possibly six weeks separation for a recent problem – I nearly died on the spot. How can something so instant, so fast, so important be separated from me for that long? Ouch!
With all that I have discovered in this “eWorld” over these past years (and am discovering each day…) I am hurt deeply when the machine dies. My machine has taken on a ‘personhood’.
Go back along time ago – when these old friends were connected to us regularly – and have a machine break down then. There was never a loss like there is now. If the telephone line was broken or the lightening strike had done its job – you were not at a feeling of tremendous loss of the vital link that we relied on. There was no ‘ouch’.
Each new discovery of an old friend has made a change on my present. I am drawn back to the old days and old memories. I spend more and more time reaching out to the past…less and less time with the present building of new friends. That has been a wee bit of a draw back for some I know. The new discoveries have lost them to the present world.
A New Thought…
I have made a commitment to not lose a grip on the real world – as I rediscover the past. I do not want to lose the present with ‘News from afar’.
I have resolved to make one new friend for every old friend I hear from. I bet that seems odd to some reading this. But it is very necessary in my case. Without it I become isolated with the old…and never discover the new.
Some of the seniors around me have recently reminded me of the need to keep their doors open to new friends. In a senior’s home nearby I have discovered a new friend. We plan to meet from time to time over wood carving. We both have an interest and want to pursue a new friendship together. A lot like two boys that once lived in the same neighbourhood – we are new friends.
It feels good today…to say the least. I have connected with old friends and made new ones too.
How about you? Lost any friends that you would like to find? Maybe some bridges were burned…and with distance you lost some important connections? What would you have to do to rebuild? I was thinking this and bingo… another email arrived from a very old friend.
How about you? Have you made any new friends this week? Some one is waiting to find you today.
Have a great week connecting. Some one is waiting to hear from you. It will be good news from afar.
~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~
Proverbs 25:25 - The Living Bible -
“Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.”
posted by Murray Lincoln at
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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